Some historians call the Renaissance the birth of “modernity.” Why?
Renaissance is referred to the birth of modernity due to the renewed spirit of investigation, curiosity, and discovery amidst the Western Europeans in the same spirit that is moving the world and humanity at present more than ever. The period represents the most imperative error in the history of human development following the fall of Ancient Rome (Mattingly, 1958). The period was seen as the birth of modernity as it changed the universe in every manner that a person could think of where every intellectual progress created the way for more advancement. During those times, new regions were colonized, while new continents were discovered, and new cultures were found.
The period is referred to as the birth of modernity, also because it resulted in new values, beliefs, and ideas. At the time of the renaissance, the folks sought and desired to re-establish and bring back to life the wealthy and the rich culture of classical Rome and Greece (Mattingly, 1958). Scientists like Copernicus and Galileo were developing unprecedented comprehension of the place of the planet in the cosmos, which was enough proof that the earth revolved around the sun. New ideas in the field of chemistry led to the establishment of gun powder. Also, in mathematics, there was the stimulation of new commercial trading systems, which made it even easier to navigate through the world.
The renaissance changed the earth in just about every way that one could think. At the time of the renaissance, the artists started to use new perspectives techniques and portrayed their work on realistic characteristics and expressions. The art was no longer limiting itself to just looking pretty where behind it was a new intellectual discipline (Mattingly 1958). Behind the intellectual discipline, a perspective was created, and there was the study of shadow and light. The artists were beginning to come up with new bold realism.
Reference
Mattingly, G. (1958). Machiavelli’s” Prince“: Political Science or Political Satire?. The American Scholar, 482-491.