The Renaissance or “rebirth” was a time when humans began to rise intellectually from the Middle Ages. During this rebirth, artists, scholars, physicians among other professionals began to look into the ideals of the ancient philosophers of the classical world, a time known for its high standards and human achievements. They did this to reshape their thinking. This meant that they began to deviate from the religious point of view and began to conform into a secular one. Moreover, the interest these men took in altering their way of thinking led to the ideology of Humanism.
Humanism was a concept that held tremendous importance in the development of the Italian Renaissance. It is known as “…a code of civil conduct, a theory of education, and a scholarly discipline than a philosophical system” (Kleiner 209). In addition, humanism is also “…a renewed confidence in the ability of human beings to determine for themselves truth and falsehood” (Edwords). It was a time that made intellectual individuals change their archaic ways of thinking. This era did not only influence scholarly men, it also influenced many important artists that subscribed to this perspective in order to create
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The form of this abstract art work is a two dimensional drawing on paper fashioned in ink. Moreover, its dimensions are 1′ 2″ x 0′ 10″. The iconography of this drawing is where art meets science. It shows the figure of a man “…in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and simultaneously inscribed in a circle and square. The drawing and text are sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less often, Proportions of Man” (The Vitruvian Man - by Leonardo da Vinci), meaning it is part of a universal design, where each of its separate parts were a simple fraction of the whole. It explained the measurements of man, from forehead to chin and so on