What Do These Pictures Of The Pazzi Chapel - 1372 Words

What do these pictures of the Pazzi Chapel (exterior and interior) suggest to you about the core ideas/beliefs of the Italian Renaissance? The Pazzi Chapel epitomizes the Italian Renaissance’s core beliefs of humanism, individualism, and the salience of religion. The first thing that people will notice about the chapel is its unique dimensions. The Pazzi Chapel is comparatively small to the Gothic cathedrals that were designed in the Middle Ages. This emphasizes the Renaissance belief of humanism. Humanism is the rediscovery of Greek and Roman texts as well as the belief that human beings have the potential and capacity to succeed. By molding the chapel to be relatively small to Gothic cathedrals, Brunelleschi created an environment in†¦show more content†¦Moreover, the Pazzi Chapel also represented the rediscovery of Greek and Roman methods of architecture, another aspect of humanism. For example, the dome, as well as the arches inside the chapel, are taken from Roman architecture. The faà §ade of the chapel imitates arches such as the Arch of Constantine. Furthermore, the columns inside the chapel rep resent Greek Corinthian columns, with their elaborate, but symmetrical designs. A famous painting by Raphael, The School of Athens, represents a similar aspect of humanism. The School of Athens depicts all of the greatest mathematicians, artists, and scientists gathering to share ideas while learning from one another. This illustrates that the Renaissance rebirth was of not only arts, but of education too. In his painting, Raphael borrowed Greek ideas and incorporated the importance of education, suggesting the resurgence of classical literatures, another aspect of the central belief of humanism. Furthermore, the Pazzi Chapel, with its smaller size, also conveys another central belief of the Renaissance—individualism. Individualism is the celebration of the individual and this is