Renaissance Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Renaissance Art - Essay Example nimity is neither dependent upon his genealogy nor upon his extraordinary achievements as a statesman or a brave warrior- unlike Agamemnon or Achilles. On the contrary, man’s intellectual achievements, as personified by Faustus, coupled with his ceaseless passion for rediscovery were for Marlowe, the sole criteria for ascertaining a man’s greatness. In addition to this, through his awe-inspiring tragedy, Marlowe also revolutionized the much popular debate between fate and free-will. According to the ancient Greeks, fate almost always superseded free-will. They believed that destiny was unalterable. Once his unintentional sin is disclosed to him, the Greek tragic hero, Oedipus considers himself as the victim of the malevolent forces of nature. However, instead of waging a battle against the Oracle; he realizes his limitations as a mortal, indulges in self-martyrdom by blinding himself and surrenders himself to the ominous fate that awaits him. Dr. Faustus, on the other h and, emerges out as an apostate by exclaiming that, â€Å"a sound magician is a demi-god† (I. i. 61). He undoubtedly epitomizes the Renaissance individual- one who unlike the classical Greek heroes, defies the dictates of Divinity. Moreover, Faustus also contests the notion that man’s abilities are limited. He is enticed by the secular-humanistic assertion made by Mephostophilis, â€Å"But think’st thou heaven is such a glorious thing?/I tell thee Faustus it is not half so fair/As thou or any man that breathes on earth† (II. ii. 5-7). Thus, Faustus adheres to the belief that Heaven is great, but man is greater still. Thus, by negating the supreme role played by fate and by placing much more emphasis on individual responsibility, Marlowe has iterated that the Renaissance individual’s suffering is... This paper work describes a period of ‘rebirth’, resulted in the flourishing of arts and literature. During the Reneissance skepticism, humanism, emphasis on rational thought and reformulation of traditional belief systems were the hallmarks. The practice of viewing everything with an eye of skepticism and daring to explore the unexplored led to the formulation of: the notion of Copernican motion, the acknowledgement of the unimaginable potential granted to man by Providence and most importantly the conviction that dogmatic religious ideology or a puritanical belief system is not the absolute. In the literary realm, Marlowe’s ‘Dr.Faustus’, can be categorized as a paradigmatic example of the Renaissance literature. With the emergence of Renaissance, art in general and painting in particular assumed an altogether different dimension. In the classical Greek and Roman eras, decorated vases and sculptors were in vogue. Likewise, the Golden era of Byzantine had also seen a flourishing of arts and culture. However, in these afore-mentioned eras, not much emphasis was placed on making art life-like. The endeavour of making paintings and portraits resemble real life and of depicting man as a sentient being, was taken up by the renowned artistic masters of the Renaissance period- Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Mossacio (also known as Tomasso Guidi) and Rembrandt. Rembrandt was undoubtedly one of the most accomplished Dutch artists of the late Renaissance period- the seventeenth century.