Exploring European Garden Art and Culture: Blog Post #3

The Renaissance was an era of rebirth for most of Europe. During this time, the ideas of humanism and rediscovery of the classics held great importance. This humanist way of thinking was based on the classics, and rational, self-thinking, where the church no longer had to tell people what to do. It additionally revolved around the concept of human power of reason. Another important element that occurred during this period were all of the scientific advancements. During the Renaissance, people steered away from their more religious beliefs and explanations, and people started to use science to explain worldly phenomenons. Now, this did not mean Christianity died, but religion no longer had the same dominating role it had during the medieval period. It is also important to note that around this period the Reformation was also occurring which added to the distancing from religion. This idea of moving away from religion, relying more on science, and the interest in humanism, all influenced the different arts. Architecture often reflected ideas from Ancient Greece and Rome through symmetry. Paintings used linear perspective, a phenomenon that makes images appear more realistic and in scale. This concept was actually discovered about through the study of optics, which demonstrates science’s influence over art during this time. Some of the important artist during this time were Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael.

The School of Athens by Raphael

Sculptures more accurately represented the human anatomy and body, and the gardens during this time also experienced a change and felt the effects of the Renaissance. More particularly, the Italian Renaissance garden, which greatly affected all Renaissance gardens throughout Europe.

The Renaissance gardens transformed from more inwardly directed, during the medieval times, to more outwardly and worldly. Looking back to antiquity was very important during the Renaissance. Therefore, it is not surprising that the idea of the Roman villa resurfaced and was very central for Renaissance gardens and architecture. Classical antiquity was also referenced with the use of axial symmetry of the gardens, as well as the use of statues in the gardens. Alberti has theories about how the villas and gardens should tie together. For instance, he thinks of a villa and garden “as integral architectural components” (Rodgers, p.63). This is very important because during the Renaissance the inter-relationship between man, god and nature were very important. One of the greatest examples of Italian Renaissance Gardens is Villa d’Este. In this grand garden we can see axial alignment, the unification of the gardens and architecture, and the use of terraces, which is very important for integrating the two. Additionally, in this garden, and many other Italian Renaissance gardens, there are many water sources which references to nature.