Italy is the birthplace of the Renaissance. The Renaissance. Philosophy of the Renaissance: the foundations of a new movement

Details Category: Fine arts and architecture of the Renaissance (Renaissance) Published 12/19/2016 16:20 Views: 8974

The Renaissance is a time of cultural flourishing, the heyday of all arts, but the one that most fully expressed the spirit of its time was fine art.

Renaissance, or Renaissance(fr. “new” + “born”) had global significance in the history of European culture. The Renaissance replaced the Middle Ages and preceded the Age of Enlightenment.
Main features of the Renaissance– the secular nature of culture, humanism and anthropocentrism (interest in man and his activities). During the Renaissance, interest in ancient culture flourished and, as it were, its “rebirth” took place.
The Renaissance arose in Italy - its first signs appeared in the 13th-14th centuries. (Tony Paramoni, Pisano, Giotto, Orcagna, etc.). But it was firmly established in the 20s of the 15th century, and by the end of the 15th century. reached its peak.
In other countries, the Renaissance began much later. In the 16th century a crisis of Renaissance ideas begins, a consequence of this crisis is the emergence of mannerism and baroque.

Renaissance periods

The Renaissance is divided into 4 periods:

1. Proto-Renaissance (2nd half of the 13th century - 14th century)
2. Early Renaissance (beginning of the 15th - end of the 15th century)
3. High Renaissance(end of the 15th - first 20 years of the 16th century)
4. Late Renaissance (mid-16th-90s of the 16th century)

The fall of the Byzantine Empire played a role in the formation of the Renaissance. The Byzantines who moved to Europe brought with them their libraries and works of art, unknown medieval Europe. Byzantium never broke with ancient culture.
Appearance humanism(a socio-philosophical movement that considered man as the highest value) was associated with the absence of feudal relations in the Italian city-republics.
Secular centers of science and art began to emerge in cities, which were not controlled by the church. whose activities were outside the control of the church. In the middle of the 15th century. Printing was invented, which played an important role in the spread of new views throughout Europe.

Brief characteristics of the Renaissance periods

Proto-Renaissance

The Proto-Renaissance is the forerunner of the Renaissance. It is also closely connected with the Middle Ages, with Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic traditions. He is associated with the names of Giotto, Arnolfo di Cambio, the Pisano brothers, Andrea Pisano.

Andrea Pisano. Bas-relief "Creation of Adam". Opera del Duomo (Florence)

Proto-Renaissance painting is represented by two art schools: Florence (Cimabue, Giotto) and Siena (Duccio, Simone Martini). Central figure painting was Giotto. He was considered a reformer of painting: he filled religious forms secular content, made a gradual transition from planar images to volumetric and relief ones, turned to realism, introduced plastic volume of figures into painting, and depicted the interior in painting.

Early Renaissance

This is the period from 1420 to 1500. Artists of the Early Renaissance of Italy drew motifs from life and filled traditional religious subjects with earthly content. In sculpture these were L. Ghiberti, Donatello, Jacopo della Quercia, the della Robbia family, A. Rossellino, Desiderio da Settignano, B. da Maiano, A. Verrocchio. In their work, a free-standing statue, a picturesque relief, a portrait bust, and an equestrian monument began to develop.
IN Italian painting XV century (Masaccio, Filippo Lippi, A. del Castagno, P. Uccello, Fra Angelico, D. Ghirlandaio, A. Pollaiolo, Verrocchio, Piero della Francesca, A. Mantegna, P. Perugino, etc.) are characterized by a sense of harmonious orderliness of the world, appeal to the ethical and civic ideals of humanism, a joyful perception of the beauty and diversity of the real world.
The founder of Renaissance architecture in Italy was Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) - architect, sculptor and scientist, one of the creators scientific theory prospects.

A special place in the history of Italian architecture occupies Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472). This Italian scientist, architect, writer and musician of the Early Renaissance was educated in Padua, studied law in Bologna, and later lived in Florence and Rome. He created theoretical treatises “On the Statue” (1435), “On Painting” (1435–1436), “On Architecture” (published in 1485). He defended the “folk” (Italian) language as a literary language, and in his ethical treatise “On the Family” (1737-1441) he developed the ideal harmoniously developed personality. In his architectural work, Alberti gravitated towards bold experimental solutions. He was one of the founders of new European architecture.

Palazzo Rucellai

Leon Battista Alberti designed new type a palazzo with a facade, rusticated to its entire height and dissected by three tiers of pilasters, which look like the structural basis of the building (Palazzo Rucellai in Florence, built by B. Rossellino according to Alberti’s plans).
Opposite the Palazzo is the Loggia Rucellai, where receptions and banquets for trading partners were held, and weddings were celebrated.

Loggia Rucellai

High Renaissance

This is the time of the most magnificent development of the Renaissance style. In Italy it lasted from approximately 1500 to 1527. Now the center Italian art moves from Florence to Rome thanks to accession to the papal throne Julia II, an ambitious, courageous, enterprising man, who attracted the best artists of Italy to his court.

Rafael Santi "Portrait of Pope Julius II"

In Rome, many monumental buildings are built, magnificent sculptures are created, frescoes and paintings are painted, which are still considered masterpieces of painting. Antiquity is still highly valued and carefully studied. But imitation of the ancients does not drown out the independence of artists.
The pinnacle of the Renaissance is the work of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) and Raphael Santi (1483-1520).

Late Renaissance

In Italy this is the period from the 1530s to the 1590s-1620s. The art and culture of this time are very diverse. Some believe (for example, British scientists) that “The Renaissance as a holistic historical period ended with the fall of Rome in 1527." Art late Renaissance represents a very complex picture struggle between different currents. Many artists did not strive to study nature and its laws, but only outwardly tried to assimilate the “manner” of the great masters: Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo. On this occasion, the elderly Michelangelo once said, watching artists copy his “Last Judgment”: “This art of mine will make fools of many.”
The Counter-Reformation triumphed in Southern Europe, which did not welcome any free-thinking, including the chanting human body and the resurrection of the ideals of antiquity.
Famous artists of this period were Giorgione (1477/1478-1510), Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), Caravaggio (1571-1610) and others. Caravaggio considered the founder of the Baroque style.

Renaissance(Renaissance)

Renaissance (Renaissance), an era of intellectual and artistic flowering that began in Italy in the 14th century, peaking in the 16th century and having a significant impact on European culture. The term "Renaissance", meaning a return to values ancient world(although interest in Roman classics arose in the 12th century), appeared in the 15th century and received theoretical justification in the 16th century in the works of Vasari, dedicated to the work of famous artists, sculptors and architects. At this time, an idea was formed about the harmony reigning in nature and about man as the crown of its creation. Among prominent representatives of this era - the artist Alberti; architect, artist, scientist, poet and mathematician Leonardo da Vinci.

The architect Brunelleschi, innovatively using Hellenistic (ancient) traditions, created several buildings that were not inferior in beauty to the best ancient examples. Very interesting are the works of Bramante, whom his contemporaries considered the most talented architect of the High Renaissance, and Palladio, who created large architectural ensembles that were distinguished by their integrity artistic design and a variety of compositional solutions. The theater buildings and sets were constructed based on the architectural work of Vitruvius (circa 15 BC) in accordance with the principles of the Roman theater. The playwrights followed strict classical canons. The auditorium, as a rule, was shaped like a horse's horseshoe; in front of it there was a raised platform with a proscenium, separated from the main space by an arch. This was adopted as the model for a theater building for the entire Western world for the next five centuries.

Renaissance painters created a complete, endowed internal unity the concept of the world, filled traditional religious stories with earthly content (Nicola Pisano, late 14th century; Donatello, early 15th century). Realistic image human beings became the main goal of the artists of the Early Renaissance, as evidenced by the works of Giotto and Masaccio. The invention of a way to convey perspective contributed to a more truthful reflection of reality. One of the main themes of Renaissance paintings (Gilbert, Michelangelo) was the tragic irreconcilability of conflicts, the struggle and death of the hero.

Around 1425, Florence became the center of the Renaissance (Florentine art), but by the beginning of the 16th century (High Renaissance), Venice took the leading place ( Venetian art) and Rome. The cultural centers were the courts of the Dukes of Mantua, Urbino and Ferrada. The main patrons of the arts were the Medici and the popes, especially Julius II and Leo X. The largest representatives"Northern Renaissance" were Durer, Cranach the Elder, Holbein. Northern artists mostly imitated the best Italian models, and only a few, for example Jan van Scorel, managed to create their own style, which was distinguished by special elegance and grace, later called mannerism.

Renaissance Artists:

Famous paintings by Renaissance artists


Mona Lisa

The history of the Renaissance begins in This period is also called the Renaissance. The Renaissance changed into culture and became the forerunner of the culture of the New Age. And the Renaissance ended in the 16th-17th centuries, since in each state it has its own start and end date.

Some general information

Representatives of the Renaissance are Francesco Petrarca and Giovanni Boccaccio. They became the first poets to sublime images and they began to express their thoughts in frank, common language. This innovation was received with a bang and spread in other countries.

Renaissance and art

The peculiarity of the Renaissance is that the human body became the main source of inspiration and subject of study for artists of this time. Thus, the emphasis was placed on the similarity of sculpture and painting with reality. The main features of the art of the Renaissance period include radiance, refined use of the brush, the play of shadow and light, care in the work process and complex compositions. For Renaissance artists, the main images were from the Bible and myths.

In resemblance real person with his image on this or that canvas was so close that fictional character seemed alive. This cannot be said about the art of the twentieth century.

The Renaissance (its main trends are briefly outlined above) perceived the human body as an endless beginning. Scientists and artists regularly improved their skills and knowledge by studying the bodies of individuals. The prevailing view then was that man was created in the likeness and image of God. This statement reflected physical perfection. The main and important objects of Renaissance art were the gods.

Nature and beauty of the human body

Renaissance Art great attention devoted to nature. Characteristic element The landscapes had varied and lush vegetation. Skies of a blue hue that were pierced by the sun's rays that penetrated the clouds white, were a magnificent backdrop for the floating creatures. Renaissance art revered the beauty of the human body. This feature was manifested in the refined elements of the muscles and body. Difficult poses, facial expressions and gestures, a harmonious and clear color palette are characteristic of the work of sculptors and sculptors of the Renaissance period. These include Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt and others.

His homeland was Italy, which at the end of the Middle Ages gave rise to the most developed culture in Europe.

By its location, Italy was a direct heir to ancient Roman culture, the impact of which was felt throughout its history. Since Antiquity, her spiritual life has also been influenced by Greek culture, especially after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when people moved to Italy large number Byzantine scientists.

However, the Renaissance was not reduced to simple copying of ancient traditions; it was a more complex and deeper phenomenon of world history, new in its scale and worldview. The refined and complex culture of the Middle Ages played no less a role in its origin than the culture of the ancient era, therefore, in many respects, the Renaissance was a direct continuation of the Middle Ages.

Italy remained politically fragmented into several competing states, but economically many of them were the most developed countries in Europe. For a long time, Italian states occupied leading positions in trade between East and West. It was in the cities of Northern Italy that new forms of industrial production and banking, political activity and diplomatic art arose. High level economic development, on the one hand, and rich intellectual life, on the other, turned these cities into centers of formation of a new European culture. Italian urban culture became the breeding ground in which the prerequisites of the Renaissance could become a reality.

The first capital of the Italian Renaissance was main city Tuscany Florence, where a unique combination of circumstances developed that contributed to the rapid rise of culture. At the height of the Renaissance, the center of Renaissance art moved to Rome. Popes Julius II and Leo X then made great efforts to restore the former glory Eternal City, thanks to which it truly turned into a center of world art. Third largest center Italian Renaissance became Venice, where Renaissance art acquired a unique coloring, determined by local characteristics.

fine arts

One of the most prominent figures of the Italian Renaissance was Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519). He combined many talents - painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, original thinker. His painting represents one of the peaks in the development of world art. With my experimental observations the great Leonardo enriched almost all areas of science of his time.

He competed with the genius of Leonardo da Vinci no less great artist Michelangelo(1475-1564), who was also distinguished by his diversity of talents. Michelangelo became famous as a sculptor and architect, painter and poet. The frescoes brought him eternal glory Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, where Michelangelo painted 600 sq. m scenes from the Old Testament. According to his design, the grandiose dome of St. Peter's Cathedral was built, which to this day has not been surpassed in either size or grandeur. The architectural appearance of everything historical center Rome is still inextricably linked with the name of Michelangelo.

A special role in the development of Renaissance painting belonged to Sandro Botticelli(1445-1510). He entered the history of world culture as the creator of subtle, spiritualized images, combining the sublimity of late medieval painting with close attention to the human personality, which characterized modern times.

The pinnacle of Italian art of that era is creativity Raphael(1483-1520). In his works the pictorial canons of the High Renaissance reached their apogee.

The Venetian school of painting also occupies an honorable place in the history of Renaissance art, the most outstanding representative of which is Titian(1470/80s - 1576). Titian brought everything he learned from his predecessors to perfection, and the free style of painting he created had a great influence on the subsequent development of world painting. Material from the site

Architecture

Architecture also experienced a genuine revolution during the Renaissance. The improvement of construction technology allowed the masters of the Renaissance to solve architectural problems that were inaccessible to the architects of previous times. The founders of the new architectural style were the outstanding masters of Florence, primarily F. Brunelleschi, who created the monumental dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. But the main type architectural structure During this period, it is no longer a church building, but a secular one - palazzo(castle). The Renaissance style in architecture is characterized by monumentality and emphasized simplicity of facades and the convenience of spacious interiors.

Contents of the article

RENAISSANCE, a period in the cultural history of Western and Central Europe of the 14th–16th centuries, the main content of which was the formation of a new, “earthly”, inherently secular picture of the world, radically different from the medieval one. New picture world found expression in humanism, the leading ideological current of the era, and natural philosophy, manifested itself in art and science, which underwent revolutionary changes. Construction material for original building the new culture was served by antiquity, which was turned to through the head of the Middle Ages and which, as it were, was “reborn” to a new life - hence the name of the era - “Renaissance”, or “Renaissance” (in French manner), given to her subsequently. Born in Italy, new culture at the end of the 15th century. passes through the Alps, where, as a result of the synthesis of Italian and local national traditions culture is born Northern Renaissance. During the Renaissance, the new Renaissance culture coexisted with the culture late Middle Ages, which is especially typical for countries located north of Italy.

Art.

With the theocentrism and asceticism of the medieval picture of the world, art in the Middle Ages served primarily religion, conveying the world and man in their relationship to God, in conventional forms, and was concentrated in the space of the temple. Neither visible world, no man could be a valuable object of art in its own right. In the 13th century V medieval culture new trends are observed (the cheerful teaching of St. Francis, the work of Dante, the forerunner of humanism). In the second half of the 13th century. marks the beginning of a transitional era in the development of Italian art - the Proto-Renaissance (lasted until the beginning of the 15th century), which prepared the way for the Renaissance. The work of some artists of this time (G. Fabriano, Cimabue, S. Martini, etc.), quite medieval in iconography, is imbued with a more cheerful and secular beginning, the figures acquire relative volume. In sculpture, the Gothic etherealness of figures is overcome, Gothic emotionality is reduced (N. Pisano). For the first time there is a clear break with medieval traditions appeared at the end of the 13th - first third of the 14th century. in the frescoes of Giotto di Bondone, who introduced a sense of three-dimensional space into painting, painted more voluminous figures, paid more attention to the setting and, most importantly, showed a special realism, alien to the exalted Gothic, in depicting human experiences.

On the soil cultivated by the masters of the Proto-Renaissance, arose Italian Renaissance, which has passed through several phases in its evolution (Early, High, Late). Associated with a new, essentially secular worldview expressed by humanists, it loses its inextricable connection with religion; painting and statue spread beyond the temple. With the help of painting, the artist mastered the world and man as they appeared to the eye, using a new artistic method(transfer of three-dimensional space using perspective (linear, aerial, color), creating the illusion of plastic volume, maintaining the proportionality of figures). Interest in personality and its individual traits was combined with the idealization of a person, the search for “perfect beauty.” Subjects sacred history did not leave art, but from now on their image was inextricably linked with the task of mastering the world and embodying the earthly ideal (hence the similarities between Bacchus and John the Baptist by Leonardo, Venus and the Mother of God by Botticelli). Renaissance architecture loses its Gothic aspiration to the sky and gains “classical” balance and proportionality, proportionality to the human body. The ancient order system is being revived, but the elements of the order were not parts of the structure, but decoration that adorned both traditional (temple, palace of authorities) and new types of buildings (city palace, country villa).

The founder of the Early Renaissance is considered to be the Florentine painter Masaccio, who picked up the tradition of Giotto, achieved an almost sculptural tangibility of figures, and used the principles linear perspective, moving away from the conventions of depicting the situation. Further development painting in the 15th century went to schools in Florence, Umbria, Padua, Venice (F. Lippi, D. Veneziano, P. della Francesco, A. Palaiolo, A. Mantegna, C. Crivelli, S. Botticelli and many others). In the 15th century Renaissance sculpture is born and develops (L. Ghiberti, Donatello, J. della Quercia, L. della Robbia, Verrocchio and others, Donatello was the first to create a self-standing round statue not related to architecture, the first to depict a naked body with an expression of sensuality) and architecture (F. Brunelleschi, L.B. Alberti, etc.). Masters of the 15th century (primarily L.B. Alberti, P. della Francesco) created the theory fine arts and architecture.

The Northern Renaissance was prepared by the emergence in the 1420s - 1430s, based on late Gothic (not without the indirect influence of the Giottian tradition), of a new style in painting, the so-called “ars nova” - “new art” (E. Panofsky’s term). Its spiritual basis, according to researchers, was, first of all, the so-called “New Piety” of the northern mystics of the 15th century, which presupposed specific individualism and pantheistic acceptance of the world. The origins of the new style were the Dutch painters Jan van Eyck, who also improved oil paints, and the Master from Flemalle, followed by G. van der Goes, R. van der Weyden, D. Bouts, G. tot Sint Jans, I. Bosch and others (middle - second half of the 15th century). New Netherlandish painting received a wide response in Europe: the first examples appeared already in the 1430s–1450s new painting in Germany (L. Moser, G. Mulcher, especially K. Witz), in France (Master of the Annunciation from Aix and, of course, J. Fouquet). The new style was characterized by a special realism: the transfer of three-dimensional space through perspective (although, as a rule, approximately), the desire for volume. The “new art,” deeply religious, was interested in individual experiences, the character of a person, valuing in him, first of all, humility and piety. Alien to his aesthetics is the Italian pathos of the perfect in man, the passion for classic forms(the characters’ faces are not perfectly proportional, they are gothically angular). Nature and everyday life were depicted with special love and detail; carefully painted things had, as a rule, a religious and symbolic meaning.

Actually, the art of the Northern Renaissance was born at the turn of the 15th–16th centuries. as a result of the interaction of the national artistic and spiritual traditions of the Trans-Alpine countries with the Renaissance art and humanism of Italy, with the development of northern humanism. The first artist of the Renaissance type can be considered the outstanding German master A. Durer, who involuntarily, however, retained Gothic spirituality. A complete break with the Gothic was achieved by G. Holbein the Younger with his “objectivity” of painting style. The painting of M. Grunewald, on the contrary, was imbued with religious exaltation. The German Renaissance was the work of one generation of artists and fizzled out in the 1540s. In the Netherlands in the first third of the 16th century. Currents oriented towards the High Renaissance and Mannerism of Italy began to spread (J. Gossaert, J. Scorel, B. van Orley, etc.). The most interesting thing about Dutch painting 16th century - this is the development of genres of easel painting, everyday and landscape (K. Masseys, Patinir, Luke Leydensky). The most nationally original artist of the 1550s–1560s was P. Bruegel the Elder, who owned paintings of everyday life and landscape genre, as well as parable paintings, usually associated with folklore and a bitterly ironic look at the life of the artist himself. The Renaissance in the Netherlands ends in the 1560s. French Renaissance, which was entirely courtly in nature (in the Netherlands and Germany, art was more associated with the burghers) was perhaps the most classic in the Northern Renaissance. The new Renaissance art, gradually gaining strength under the influence of Italy, reached maturity in the middle - second half of the century in the work of architects P. Lescot, the creator of the Louvre, F. Delorme, sculptors J. Goujon and J. Pilon, painters F. Clouet, J. Cousin Senior. The “School of Fontainebleau”, founded in France, had a great influence on the above-mentioned painters and sculptors. Italian artists Rosso and Primaticcio, who worked in the mannerist style, but French masters did not become mannerists, having accepted the classical ideal hidden under the mannerist guise. Renaissance during French art ends in the 1580s. In the second half of the 16th century. Italian Renaissance art and others European countries gradually gives way to mannerism and early baroque.

Science.

The most important condition for the scale and revolutionary achievements of Renaissance science was a humanistic worldview, in which the activity of exploring the world was understood as a component of man’s earthly destiny. To this we must add the revival of ancient science. The needs of navigation, the use of artillery, the creation of hydraulic structures, etc. played a significant role in the development. Spreading scientific knowledge, the exchange of them between scientists would have been impossible without the invention of printing ca. 1445.

The first achievements in the field of mathematics and astronomy date back to the mid-15th century. and are largely associated with the names of G. Peyerbach (Purbach) and I. Muller (Regiomontanus). Müller created new, more advanced astronomical tables (replacing the Alfonsian tables of the 13th century) - “Ephemerides” (published in 1492), which were used by Columbus, Vasco da Gama and other navigators in their travels. A significant contribution to the development of algebra and geometry was made by the Italian mathematician of the turn of the century L. Pacioli. In the 16th century The Italians N. Tartaglia and G. Cardano discovered new ways to solve equations of the third and fourth degree.

The most important scientific event of the 16th century. was the Copernican revolution in astronomy. Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus in his treatise On the revolution of the celestial spheres(1543) rejected the dominant geocentric Ptolemaic-Aristotelian picture of the world and not only postulated rotation celestial bodies around the Sun, and the Earth still around its axis, but also for the first time showed in detail (geocentrism as a guess was born back in Ancient Greece), how, based on such a system, one can explain – much better than before – all the data of astronomical observations. In the 16th century new system the world, as a whole, did not receive support from the scientific community. Only Galileo provided convincing evidence of the truth of Copernicus' theory.

Based on experience, some 16th century scientists (among them Leonardo, B. Varchi) expressed doubts about the laws of Aristotelian mechanics, which reigned supreme until that time, but did not offer their own solution to the problems (later Galileo would do this). The practice of using artillery contributed to the formulation and solution of new scientific problems: Tartaglia in the treatise New science considered issues of ballistics. The theory of levers and weights was studied by Cardano. Leonardo da Vinci became the founder of hydraulics. His theoretical research was related to his construction of hydraulic structures, land reclamation work, construction of canals, and improvement of locks. The English doctor W. Gilbert initiated the study electromagnetic phenomena by publishing an essay About the magnet(1600), where he described its properties.

A critical attitude towards authorities and reliance on experience were clearly manifested in medicine and anatomy. Flemish A. Vesalius in his famous work About the structure of the human body(1543) described the human body in detail, relying on his numerous observations when dissecting corpses, criticizing Galen and other authorities. At the beginning of the 16th century. Along with alchemy, iatrochemistry emerged - medicinal chemistry, which developed new medicinal preparations. One of its founders was F. von Hohenheim (Paracelsus). Rejecting the achievements of his predecessors, he, in fact, did not go far from them in theory, but as a practitioner he introduced a number of new drugs.

In the 16th century Mineralogy, botany, and zoology developed (Georg Bauer Agricola, K. Gesner, Cesalpino, Rondelet, Belona), which in the Renaissance were at the stage of collecting facts. Big role Reports from explorers of new countries, containing descriptions of flora and fauna, played a role in the development of these sciences.

In the 15th century Cartography and geography were actively developing, Ptolemy's mistakes were corrected, based on medieval and modern data. In 1490 M. Beheim creates the first globe. At the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. Europeans' search for the sea route between India and China, advances in cartography and geography, astronomy and shipbuilding culminated in the discovery of the coast Central America Columbus, who believed that he had reached India (the continent called America first appeared on Waldseemüller's map in 1507). In 1498, the Portuguese Vasco da Gama reached India, circumnavigating Africa. The idea of ​​reaching India and China by a western route was realized by the Spanish expedition of Magellan - El Cano (1519–1522), which circumnavigated South America and did the first trip around the world(in practice, the sphericity of the Earth was proven!). In the 16th century Europeans were confident that “the world today is completely open and the entire human race is known.” Great discoveries transformed geography and stimulated the development of cartography.

The science of the Renaissance had little impact productive forces, developing along the path of gradual improvement of tradition. At the same time, the successes of astronomy, geography, and cartography served as the most important prerequisite for the Great Geographical Discoveries, which led to fundamental changes in world trade, colonial expansion and a price revolution in Europe. Achievements of science during the Renaissance a necessary condition for the genesis of classical science of the New Age.

Dmitry Samotovinsky