The Middle Ages are considered dark times, but they are a time of a beautiful era in art – the Renaissance. Which is considered revolutionary. But, in my opinion, humanism, which was the basis of the Renaissance and the complete opposite of Christian morality, did not win over the consciousness of the masses. The harsh times in which this period of thaw or Renaissance was born, certainly look very optimistic on canvases in museums. But these were still the times of the dominance of church superstitions. Religion remained the main shaper of public opinion. Therefore, the “progressive” shift in Renaissance art was powerless to shift the dogmas of Christian morality, which forbade all the joys of life.
The morality of the Middle Ages was based on the mandatory existence of universal Good & Evil or that is, God and Evil – the Devil. It was easily and firmly rooted in thehuman subconscious for many ages, and it was impossible for any secular norms and rules, even royal power, to change such a strong foundation. This perception is the primary sign of evil “from the Devil”, that is, everything connected with heretical desires – i.e. Carnality. Which, as it is sad to admit, in the Middle Ages had established features of a female face. The female body, which was desired by the poor and the kings alike, had a sad fate. His beautiful church announced the fight and beautiful women fell under the definition of Witches. As signs of which, the church singled out their attractiveness and a beautiful body. Beautiful women were grabbed and burned at the stake, regardless of age or social status. That is, neither peasants nor noblewomen were protected from accusations of “witchcraft” (sexuality!!!), which causes erotic desire. Paradoxically, the increasing popularity of images of witches’ coven did not just spread – they became a favorite subject of artists. Especially in the Northern Renaissance, although the most brutal persecution of women was the Spanish Inquisition. According to widespread church legends, the Witches gathered for the Sabbath exclusively naked, so the imagination of artists knew no bounds. Referring to the “enlightening” function of his works, nude female images took on rather daring erotic angles. As an example, I add Hans Baldung Green’s engravings “Sabbath” https://www.famsf.org/artworks/witches-sabbath and “Three Witches”, and Dürer’s “Four Witches” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Naked_Women_(Dürer) . Today, we admire the beauty of models, especially in the moments of the erotic perspective of advertising pictures in Fashion publications, so it is fashionable to boldly put the witch images of Hans Green and Albert Dürer in one row with the works of Helmut Newton and Richard Avedon or other fashion photographers who hunt for just such a woman “witch image” in their most successful pictures.
In my opinion: The Middle Ages – with all the prohibitions and church frenzies regarding carnality in life and in art, can be considered an era that was quite interested in eroticism. The forbidden fruit is always the sweetest. And by spreading the legend about the original female sin, the church gave birth to a completely healthy desire to try the “apple”. What the artists successfully disguised as “enlightenment” images, alluding, atthe same time, to their own taste preferences.
What is the Renaissance and what is its role in art and in society?
In the previous story, I proved that, in my opinion, despite the ban, erotic images never disappeared in the Middle Ages. The perspective of looking at the body has simply changed. And in the most daring works, artists confirmed the impotence of religious dogmas to erase the interest in the beauty of the naked body from the human brain.
Now I will introduce you to the most progressive images that will completely break the stereotype of the lack of eroticism in the Middle Ages. Especially in times illuminated by the rays of the “Renaissance”. In the historical and cultural plane, the Renaissance coincides with the Middle Ages only in terms of time, but there is a big difference. Medieval culture concerned all socio-political and religious institutions, while the Renaissance actually affected only humanitarian areas, such as science and art. This, in my opinion, is the main reason why the era of the Renaissance, which is called the Renaissance, remained an elitist education available only to the educated and wealthy strata of the population. This outstanding event passed by the lives of the majority of the population of Europe.
Therefore, the Renaissance era is studied as an outstanding milestone in art, which first of all revived the beauty of the human body, returning it to a legitimate place.
The very philosophy of the Renaissance was to bring back to society the ancient Greek doctrine of human dignity, but this also affected only people who had access to education. Undoubtedly, the ideas of the Renaissance are more similar to the reincarnation or second birth of Antiquity. Therefore, its second name, “Renaissance”, is more widespread in the time plane and is associated with an entire era. Since the revival of scientific thinking began with art, it is therefore customary to assess the influence of the Renaissance on it. For almost three centuries, rapid changes contributed to the return of European society to the path of progressive development, which rejected church prohibitions and carried humanistic ideals into artistic and literary works.
It is the humanism of the Renaissance that is credited with the “healing” of society from the constricting shell of religious restrictions and teachings. And first of all, this is demonstrated in the return of images of a healthy human body, which as a symbol of life itself was once again fixed on canvases, frescoes and sculptures.
The revival of updated ancient ideas regarding the relationship to the human flesh as opposed to the soul allowed the development of the main philosophy of humanism “Man is the center of the Universe”, highlighting the role of the world-builder or Creator for God. In this sense, Man was raised to the “crown” of his creation, created in the image and likeness of God, who should rule over all natural things. But if a person is physically similar to a god, and the image of the body of his (god’s) son is supposedly undressed, then it is natural that one of the first images of human nudity is usually Adam and Eve. In the painting “Expulsion from Paradise”, Masaccio https://www.italianrenaissance.org/masaccios-expulsion-of-adam-and-eve-from-eden/ openly recreated the plot of original sin, minimally covering human anatomical features with green leaves. But the proportions and forms of Adam and Eve are a demonstration of the real naked body. Roman sculptures pathetically restored by the Renaissance demonstrate the inspiration of the pieta militare (the death of a hero). By analogy with this, pathos tragedy is primarily present in the sculptures of the canonical body itself – Christ. In ancient times, in the nakedness of the Gods, man had to recognize absolute freedom from conventions! Therefore, the Son of God becomes the same pieta militare, which according to Roman traditions is not just a dead body, he is a human body, which is characterized by natural nudity and tactility. “Pieta” by Michelangelo (“The Lamentation of Christ”) is still considered an unsurpassed masterpiece in the spirit of tragic eroticism. https://www.italianrenaissance.org/michelangelos-pieta/
But, it is very paradoxical that the statues of female figures were created from male nature, therefore, unlike the ancient ones, they have a predominant masculinity. And on the canvases of the artists there is a technique of Titian, in which attention is diverted from the depiction of women’s bodies by beautiful landscapes against the background of which nudity becomes secondary, and the bodily plot is unreal.
Even Leonardo, who, thanks to his advanced study of anatomy, painted with equal perfection the bodies and the beautiful landscapes that occupied most of his paintings. Reproducing the ancient manner of perfecting the representation of the body, he created a new form of the human body, the “Vitruvian Man”, which repeats the laws of Polycletus but has more refined anatomical details. For myself, I singled out an interesting and spicy detail in the Renaissance era: the church, led by Pope Alexander IV (Borgia), played not the least role in preserving interest in physicality. Of course, in historical church documents, he is considered no less than a “monster of debauchery.” But the fact that his merit is the legitimization of courtesans is the same contribution to the preservation of common sense in relation to female sexuality. During the reign of Pope Borgia, they were a decoration and “dessert” for high-ranking guests, i.e. rulers. In this way, the head of the church provided courtesans with influential protection and popularity. At the same time, he increased their “cost”. There were approximately 11,000 of these women in Venice. Their resemblance to the ancient Greek heterosexual women is incredible: the most progressive women of their time.
During the Dark Ages, the Renaissance highlighted the courtesan as a symbol of female enlightenment. In addition, they can safely be considered trendsetters and the first successful business women. Because courtesans, for example, in Venice were the owners of the best real estate. That is, they were those women who inspired, and for artists – real muses. The best canvases that we see today are decorated with images of great courtesans. For example, “Mary Magdalene” by Caravaggio (painted from the courtesan Felida Mellandroni, by the way, “resting on the way to Egypt” – The image of the Virgin Mary was also painted from Felida). “Flora” by Titian (the model was a very beautiful one of the courtesan friends, as in the others in the artist’s paintings, and Tintoretto’s painting “Woman with Bare Breasts” depicts the most famous courtesan Veronika Franco (see above).
In my opinion, the Renaissance emphasized historical cyclicality, returning female beauty and sexuality to its role in art for the second time. And what is no less important – the beauty of these women is not just a physical, but also an intellectual decoration of the Renaissance era, which fully justifies its importance not only for art, but also for the elevation of the social role of women in a progressive sense.