was essential to satisfy the need for Classical literature, and Cosimo had
hundreds copied.
Humanism, a term that is intimately associated with the Renaissance, is
also the product of the Classical revival; the emphasis was on man, not
God, because the pre-Christian writers had a different focus on man and the
origins of the world. The intellectuals of the Renaissance era were challenged
with integrating Classical and Christian thought. In fact, Renaissance Neo-
Platonism does not indicate a concentration mainly on Plato’s ideas but was
developed from the last great pagan philosopher, Plotinus, in the 3rd century
A.D., seven centuries after Plato. Renaissance should be used as a cultural,
not a stylistic, term, because there were many styles during the Renaissance.
However, they were grounded in a common culture that came from the
balancing of Classical and Christian traditions. Ŷ
Wilton Diptych, c. 1395–99, tempera on panel, 22 ½ x 11 ½”
(57 x 29.2 cm), National Gallery, London, Great Britain.
Virgin and Child, c. 1400, oil on panel, 8 ¼ x 6” (21 x 15 cm), Musée du
Louvre, Paris, France.
Gentile da Fabriano:
Adoration of the Magi and detail from the predella: Flight into Egypt,
1423, tempera on panel, overall: 9’ 10” x 9’ 3” (300 x 283 cm), Galleria
degli Uf¿ zi, Florence, Italy.Giovanni da Milano:
Pietà, 1365, oil on panel, 48 x 22 ¾” (122 x 57.5 cm), Galleria
dell’Accademia, Florence, Italy.Bartolo di Fredi:
Presentation in the Temple, 1353, oil on panel, 6 x 4’ (190 x 125 cm)
Musée du Louvre, Paris, France.Works Discussed