Beauty is a kind of human intuition, which predates the emergence of human thought and writing, and also predates the Neolithic Age, which made great strides for human beings.
Human artistic creation can be traced back to the late Paleolithic period, more than 40,000 years ago Sulawesi island cave paintings in Indonesia, more than 30,000 years ago in Spain Altamira cave paintings, more than 17,000 years ago in France Lascaux cave paintings, all show that human beings have learned to paint before learning to grow crops and domesticate livestock.
In this sense, the artistic and aesthetic pursuits of human beings are far older than the emergence of civilization. In other words, it is the awakening of art and aesthetic consciousness that has catalyzed the emergence of human civilization. Since then, mankind has entered the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age, and more exquisite stone tools and bronze tools have been produced, and aesthetics and civilization have advanced rapidly on the same track. However, with the increasing complexity of human society, religion and politics eventually ruled everything, and art was reduced to a vassal of secular or divine power, both in the East and the West.
It was not until the Renaissance around the 15th century that people once again separated the aesthetics that belonged to people from the divine power. It can be said that the Renaissance was another awakening of human art and aesthetic consciousness, and it was in this sense that human civilization was re-launched, and finally shaped the later Age of Enlightenment, the era of scientific explosion, and the modern human civilization that we are in now, which is completely different from ancient society.
Therefore, when we commemorate the great masters of the Renaissance today, we are not only appreciating their works, but also seeking the spiritual awakening behind human civilization, which is about humanity, the individual, and freedom. Among a series of Renaissance giants, there are five that are particularly worthy of our understanding:
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Da vinci
Awaken the world with reason
Leonardo da ·, born in 1452 in the Republic of Florence, Italy, one of the three masters of the Renaissance and one of the greatest painters in human history.
His paintings "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper" are some of the most famous paintings in the world, and they probably don't need to be added. However, few people know that da · Vinci was also an inventor and scientist, and he painted drawings of various machines such as flying machines on manuscript paper, and he said: "There is only one truth, and it is not in religion, but in science." ”
▲ Da · Vinci aircraft design manuscript
Albert Einstein even said that if Leonardo da · had published his scientific research results at that time, the technology could have been advanced by 30-50 years.
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Boss
Use the devil to strike directly at the destruction of mankind
Jerónimis · Bosch, 15th-century Netherlands painter. His paintings are known for their grotesque images of demons, half-humans, half-beasts.
His masterpiece "Paradise on Earth" shows Adam, Eve and all beings on the left, strange things on earth in the middle, and dark hell on the right.
▲Paradise on Earth, made between 1490 and 1510
His works are obscure, full of exaggerated and strange creatures, and make people feel a kind of suffocation from sin and the moral decline of humanity. He is also considered one of the inspirers of 20th-century surrealism.
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Michelangelo
Man should accomplish God in his own way
Michelangelo, a great Italy sculptor and painter of the 15th and 16th centuries, was one of the three masters of the Renaissance. Michelangelo believed that man was created in the image of God and that man should fulfill God in his own way.
He projects his ideal expectations into his creations, and under his sculptures, the perfect body seems to not belong to the world, but is closer to God. As Michelangelo said, "I saw an angel in marble, and I kept carving until I set him free." ”
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Raphael
Seek the authenticity and tranquility of human nature
Raphael, born in Italy in 1483, was the youngest of the three Renaissance masters, but lived only 37 years old. Unlike the grotesque Bosch, the toned Michelangelo, and the scientific and rational Leonardo da ·, Raphael's works are full of calm and softness, shining with the warmest side of human nature.
His many pictures of the Virgin Mary show human love, and his famous work "The School of Athens" reflects the light of ancient Greece's wisdom, and he uses the original appearance of human nature to warn the world to return to love and wisdom.
▲ "The Academy of Athens"
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Caravaggio
A legendary painter who spent his life on the run and murder
Caravaggio, born in Italy in 1571, represents the late Renaissance. Caravaggio is a representative of the Baroque school, and his work is characterized by violent struggles, bizarre beheadings, torture and death.
▲ "The Death of the Virgin"
He himself was a penchant for fighting and committing crimes, and spent his life on the run and murder, and it is said that Caravaggio's death was born of the revenge of his enemies. But despite this, Caravaggio conquered the world with his intense works and genius skills.
The above five Renaissance masters represent different spiritual aspects of this great historical period. But without exception, they are no longer sticking to the rules, but breaking the sacred shackles of tradition with artistic and aesthetic self-awakening.
The important role of the awakening of aesthetic consciousness to human civilization may have been underestimated, and the so-called art is not just a spiritual talk after people have eaten and clothed themselves. The awakening of aesthetics is essentially the awakening of human nature, which means that we begin to care about the individual, about freedom, about imagination, and about happiness.