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This 3 page paper discusses ways in which the philosophy of Renaissance humanism is reflected in the Mona Lisa. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KV32_HVrensml.rtf
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ways in which the Mona Lisa reflects its time, specifically the philosophy of Renaissance humanism. Discussion Humanism is the name given to the social philosophy that was predominant from about
1400 to 1650; people turned back to the pagan classics, which "stimulated the philosophy of secularism, the appreciation of worldly pleasures, and above all intensified the assertion of personal independence
and individual expression" (Kreis, 2008). Historians seem to be in agreement about the fundamental point about humanism, which is that the "humanist mentality stood at a point midway between medieval
supernaturalism and the modern scientific and critical attitude" (Kreis, 2008). They tend to see humanism as the seminal point from which modernism grew (Kreis, 2008). As regards art in particular,
which is of interest here, Renaissance humanism regarded beauty as a mechanism by which one could catch a glimpse of "a transcendental existence" (Kreis, 2008). Humanism comprised a "cult of
beauty," and this shows that above all, humanism was "an aesthetic movement" (Kreis, 2008). The measure of everything was human experience along with a "full participation in rich and varied
human relationships" (Kreis, 2008). In art, beauty and "especially the aristocratic attitude" were important. (Kreis, 2008). Humanism was also a release from the drudgery, disease and misery of the Middle
Ages. The Hundred Years War and the plague marked the end of this period, and as Europe slowly recovered, new beliefs about the purpose of life began to emerge (Brown,
2007). These beliefs were humanistic, and those who held them believed that live on Earth "had a point of its own" (Brown, 2007). Mortal life was not just a "stopover"
on the way to death and the eternal life beyond, it was full of beauty, "waiting to be enjoyed" (Brown, 2007). Thus the Mona Lisa can be seen as one
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