Have you ever looked back to history with admiration, excitement, or nostalgia? Many people do, which is probably why history-themed TV shows and books continue to attract people’s attention in the world today. We might think that those who came before us lived in more interesting times, or maybe that they lived in cultures which were superior to our modern culture. During the Renaissance, people also looked to their past with a sense of admiration and in search of guidance. They did not look to the previous century, but instead to the ancient Greeks and Romans, whose civilizations existed more than a thousand years earlier. Patrons, scholars, artists, and engineers of the Renaissance looked back to their ancient ancestors in order to help them craft their world in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is really not surprising that this started in Italy, since many of the old ruins still standing in the Renaissance period would still have been considered engineering marvels – the products of some advanced people who once occupied the land.
While the challenges that each generation faces differ from those faced by previous generations, many of the same basic issues persist. How do we approach issues that we face today, whether they be political, economic, or social? Do we think that coming up with some new and “enlightened” solution to problems is always the best, or do we stop and consider how similar problems were addressed at different times in history? The Renaissance teaches us the power of looking to the past for insights and inspiration in dealing with today’s issues. By looking to the past for guidance today, not only can we find potential sources of answers, but also ways to address current challenges that previous societies have faced.
It shows us the importance of continual innovationWhile the Renaissance is mostly considered in light of the historical thinking that went on in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, leaders of that time could be very forward-thinking in their approaches. The Scientific Revolution was still centuries away, but we can still find in the Renaissance a push towards using new means to address problems. In the world of art, principles of perspective were explored which allowed for the creation of more and more realistic illusions in painted and sculpted images.
Engraving showing workers transporting an obelisk near St. Peter’s Basilica in 1586.In the world of engineering, we find challenges being overcome through the use of forward-looking innovation. One of the most famous examples of this is when Filippo Brunelleschi designed and executed the dome which covered the transept of the Florence cathedral. When the church was built in the fourteenth century, a large hole was left in the ceiling because no one knew how to cover it with a dome. It was not until Brunelleschi used an original approach in the early 1400s that the problem was solved. In the late sixteenth century, we find another remarkable example of engineering innovation in Domenico Fontana’s transport and installation of a large obelisk in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. In painting, we see a tremendous change in the realism of portrayed figures and spaces thanks to new developments in perspective and painterly technique.
Innovation is something that we have a lot of today, but much of it rests on the shoulders of previous generations that engaged in much trial and error. We can better appreciate what we have today by recognizing the groundwork that was laid in the past. This holds true not only for the technology itself, but also for the willingness to try experimental means of overcoming challenges. In the Renaissance, there was a prevailing humanist belief in the ability of the human person to rise to challenges of the day, and this belief gives us a model for courage in doing what no one has done before.
