To Man and New Thoughts

Thanks to the hit animated cartoon franchise, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”(abbreviated as TMNT), people from around the world came to know the names Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. We all know Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey as the band of turtle brothers who protect New York City from petty criminals, evil overlords, mutated creatures, and alien invaders. But before these turtles even ceased to exist, there was a different Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey who made their own marks on the world.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, and Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni are only four out of the many artists who contributed to the era of cultural rebirth in Europe. Art during this era focused on the human person more than religious beliefs, and it was normal for artists to engage in diverse fields, like Leonardo Da Vinci, whose field of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. That was how the term “Renaissance Man” came into acceptance. Artists created majestic art of every size, from real-life sculptures of a human head to humongous domes made to be places of worship. Ideologies and beliefs during this time were also enlightened.

However, considering the age of technology and behavior during this era, a lot of people were unaware that a cultural revolution was taking place. During this time, majority of the population of Europe were free peasants, tenants, and laborers, who were busy harvesting crops, tending to their sheep, or whatever labor work they have to do to sustain their needs. They did not have time to appreciate the painting of the ‘Mona Lisa’ or contemplate about the moral concepts of Petrarch’s poetry. Only the lives of the rich and those who were close to them were affected by this.

But nevertheless, this era is still considered to be significant because the fruits of its foundation still prevail even until now. People today still read Renaissance literature and appreciate Renaissance Art. We even have museums dedicated to Renaissance artists and feature their work. The Renaissance Period was truly a remarkable one and we believe that it can never be paralleled.