What Role Did Humanism Play In The High Renaissance

Humanism is a system of thought that focuses on human and their values rather than centering on the religious beliefs. In other words humanism is when more importance is directed towards the need of the humans and towards rationalization and empiricism rather than sticking by the religious beliefs and ideologies (fideism). Humanism started spreading across Western Europe in 15th 16th and 17th century. However, in Italy the humanist approach received extensive success and acceptance. By the middle of the 15th century the influential classes In Italy had received their education in humanism and also started practicing it. The word humanism was coined in 1808 in Germany to label the study of the language and literature of one's own culture (as opposed to the study of the literature and language of classical antiquity). Moreover Humanism also plays a major role in the period of high renaissance and has influenced the work of many artists during the high renaissance period.

The high renaissance is taken to begin in 1490’s with the fresco painting done by Leonardo of the last supper in Milan and to the death of Lorenzo de Medici in Florence. According to some scholars the paintings by the artists like Raphael and Michelangelo in the Vatican represents the culmination of high renaissance because of their close observation of the human body and extravagant scale of their works and complex compositions. Moreover it also represented iconographic and embellished references to classical antiquity. By the end of 15th century the high renaissance artists have excelled in many visual illusionism like light and shade the use of perspective and linear