Dante: After the 12th century, more and more compilations of works from the ancient Greek and Roman periods appeared. The original intention of the church is to find methodology and basis for its own theological theory, but researchers have discovered another cultural realm that is completely different from Christian theory. Italy produced the earliest classical scholars in Western Europe, among whom Dante was one of the most erudite. Dante was born into a noble family in Florence. His father had been in business for a long time due to the decline of his family. At that time, the city had the Kybelin Party, which represented the interests of the feudal aristocracy and supported the Pope, and the Guelph Party, which supported the Holy Roman Emperor and represented the interests of the bourgeoisie. Dante's father naturally supported the Guelphists, and Dante himself later became one of its leaders. In his early years, Dante studied under the famous scholar Brunetto Latini, and systematically studied Latin, rhetoric, poetics and classical literature. He highly admired the great Roman poet Virgil. In the fields of painting and music, Dante also had extraordinary achievements. In addition, Dante carefully studied theology and philosophy, and the thoughts of the ancient church father St. Augustine had a particularly profound influence on him.
Petrarch: Petrarch loved literature and rhetoric when he was a boy, and was particularly interested in classical works. The poetry of Virgil in ancient Rome and the speeches of Cicero strongly attracted him. But his father wanted him to become a jurist. Therefore, from 1316 onwards, he studied law in Montepolis, France and Bologna, Italy. After his father died in 1320, he gave up studying law and freely developed his hobbies. In the same year he returned to Avignon and took up a minor teaching position. From 1330 to 1347, he served under Cardinal Vanni Colonna. Petrarch's father was originally a lawyer in Florence. Due to disagreements with the leaders of the Black Party, he was expelled from the city in 1302 and moved to Arezzo. On July 20, 1304, Petrarch was born here. After several moves, their family moved to Avignon in southern France in 1312, where the Holy See was located at that time. Therefore, Petrarch had close ties with the pope and other upper-class elements. This situation is not only related to his growth, but also helpful to his future humanistic activities. On July 19, 1374, Petrarch died in a small village called Akva. When his body was found, his head was still buried among Virgil's manuscripts. He was not busy with work in the church, which made him participate in some political and diplomatic activities of the Holy See while tirelessly studying literature and composing poetry. Petrarch's reputation as a poet quickly spread. In 1340, Paris and Rome vied with each other to invite him to receive the crown. As a result he decided to go to Rome. On April 8, 1341, he accepted the title of "Poet Laureate" on the Capitoline Hill in Rome.
Boccaccio: Boccaccio was the illegitimate son of the Florentine merchant Boccaccio of Calino and a French woman. Regarding his birthplace, there is a lack of precise information to judge. He is said to have been born in Chitaldo, near Florence, and another is said to have been born in Paris. His biological mother died when he was young, and he came to Florence with his father. Soon, his father remarried, and he spent his childhood under the cruelty of his strict father and stepmother. Later, he was sent to Naples by his father, where he reluctantly learned business in a trading company in which his father had a stake, but gained nothing. His father asked him to study law and religious regulations, but neither business nor law attracted his interest. He loved literature since he was a child, so he began to study poetry on his own and read the works of classic writers. This period of life allowed him to personally experience the lives, thoughts and emotions of citizens and businessmen, which was incorporated into the "Decameron" he wrote later. While living in Naples, Boccaccio had the opportunity to visit the court of King Robert of Angelo. Here, his suppressed personality and talents are fully displayed. He had extensive contacts with many humanist poets, scholars, theologians, and jurists, and was exposed to the lives of noble knights. This enriched his life experience, expanded his cultural and artistic horizons, and further revitalized his interest in classical culture and literature. He met Robert's illegitimate daughter Maria again at the court and fell in love with her. This romantic experience also left a deep mark on his literary creation. Some of the female images he created in his later literary works can be traced to Maria.
Leonardo Da Vinci: 1). Leonardo da Vinci painted eggs. Leonardo da Vinci showed a talent for painting since he was a child, and the small animals he painted were lifelike. So his father sent him to the workshop of his friend, the famous painter and sculptor Verrocchio, as an apprentice. After Leonardo da Vinci came to the workshop, his teacher Verrocchio brought him an egg and asked him to draw it. Leonardo da Vinci quickly drew a few pictures, but the teacher asked him to continue painting for several days. The teacher saw his irritability and said meaningfully: "This egg is not simple. There are no two identical eggs in the world. Even the same egg has different shapes due to different viewing angles and different light." "Da Vinci suddenly realized that the teacher was trying to cultivate his ability to observe things and grasp images! From then on, he worked tirelessly to train the basic skills of painting and learn all kinds of art and scientific knowledge, which laid a solid foundation for his future outstanding achievements in painting and other aspects.
Michelangelo: sculptor, painter, poet and architect: (translated as the Statue of David in Michelangelo Square in the "New Chinese Curriculum Standards Must-Read Series"
[1] "The Biography of Michelangelo") The biography is divided into upper and lower parts. The upper part is "Fighting", the lower part is "Giving Up" and the last part is "Death". Michelangelo was born in Caprese, Casentino, Italy on March 6, 1475. His father was a judge. His mother died when he was six years old, and Michelangelo was fostered in the home of a stonemason's wife. At the age of thirteen, he entered the studio of Domenico Ghirlandaio. It is said that his teachers were jealous of him because of his excellent grades. They broke up after a year and Michelangelo transferred to another sculpture school. Soon, he left there due to conflicts of religious beliefs. Later, he visited famous cities such as Venice and Rome, and his sculpture level continued to improve. In March 1505, Michelangelo was encouraged by others to ask the Pope to let him paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In the following years, he was sent by successive popes, carrying the pain to create works that he was not satisfied with. In 1527, Michelangelo was involved in a revolutionary whirlpool and almost died. After the revolution, Pope Clement brought him out of hiding, and Michelangelo was forced to work again for the very people he had resisted. When Pope Clement died in September 1537, Michelangelo thought he could quietly do his own thing. But as soon as he arrived in Rome, he was captured by his new master, Paul III. It seems that fate has destined him to do other people's work amid endless interference. Not only that, his love is not ideal either.
Raphael: Raphael's father was a second-level painter in the court, so he learned painting from his father since he was a child. When he was 11 years old, his father died and he worked as an assistant to a painter. Later, he studied the works of Florentine artists of the 15th century and actively absorbed the advantages and strengths of painters from various schools. He formed his own harmonious, clear, graceful and elegant artistic style and began to embark on an original path. Raphael's mother died in 1491, when Raphael was only eight years old, and his father remarried on August 1, 1494. Orphaned at the age of eleven, Raphael's official guardian became his only uncle. He studied painting with his father when he was young, and later switched to studying painting in Perugino's studio, graduating in 1500.