Humanism and the Renaissance There Term Paper

Humanism in the Renaissance posited that everyone is worthy of an equal chance, and even though peasants were not the socioeconomic equal of the wealthy, peasants were human and deserving of an equal opportunity. Humanism in fact was an attempt "…to resurrect and emulate the literature and art of the ancient Greeks and Romans," Neil Haughton writes in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. Renaissance painters emphasized the "positive attributes of their subjects, both physical and political," rather than "realistic interpretation" (Haughton, 2004).

As to the impact the Renaissance had on the founding of America, authors Richard Vetterli and Gary Bryner suggest that the American Revolution was "…less…the first political act of revolutionary enlightenment as the last great act of the Renaissance" (Vetterli, 1996, 14). In fact the authors say that the American founders were "civic humanists"; indeed, the beliefs, the attitudes and the character of the American founders "…could not help but have been deeply affected by…" Renaissance humanists (Vetterli, 15).

In conclusion, the works by Leonardo Da Vinci, in addition to the Last Supper, are very representative of Renaissance humanism.The Mona Lisa, and Da Vinci's other brilliant works, show the human side of life and through the centuries those paintings by Da Vinci have not lost the luster and glow of the humanism that this master put into them. Probably not many Americans today are aware that the foundation of the U.S. democracy came from the Renaissance, but knowing the philosophical origins of the American democracy came out of the humanism of the Renaissance is in a very real way empowering for a student; that is, knowledge is power.

Works Cited

About.com. "Last Supper, painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, 1498." Retrieved April 26, 2013,

from http://atheism.about.com. 2013

Haughton, Neil. "Perceptions of beauty in Renaissance art." Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology,

3.4 (2004): 229-233.

The Hub. "The Last Supper' by Leonardo Da Vinci." Retrieved April 26, 2013, from http://jreynolds13.hubpages.com. 2009.

Vetterli, Richard, and Bryner, Gary C. In search of the republic: public virtue and the roots of American government. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.….....