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Renaissance (countries located to the north of Italy: the Netherlands, Germany,
France) was more compressed and intense in time, it addressed internal matters of
faith, state, law instead of external manifestations of art. The Northern Renaissance
began in the middle of the XIVth century and lasted until the end of the XVII th

century. The third Renaissance lasted for 40-70 years. It covered England,
Portugal, some Slavic countries (the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine).
The Renaissance type of culture has passed several (five) stages clearly

distinguished in the Italian culture: Proto-Renaissance (second half of the XIII -
beginning of the XIV century), Early Renaissance (XIV – beginning of the XV
century), Mature Renaissance (XV – the first quarter of the XVI century), High

Renaissance (first quarter of the XVI – middle of the XVI century), Late
Renaissance (second half of the XVI - early XVII century). The most important
features of the Renaissance culture are the following: 1) development of

individualism, emancipation of the individual (a strong, heroic person), and 2)
secular thinking and social behavior. Thanks to these qualities the Renaissance
made a breakthrough in the Middle Ages lifestyles and feudal Catholic outlook.

4. Characteristics of the Italian Renaissance
These processes of the Renaissance took place in Italy against the backdrop

of a rising urban culture out of control of the clergy and secular lords and thanks to
humanists - university professors teaching humanitarian disciplines: literature,
languages, philosophy, history, rhetoric, logic, grammar etc. The most important
achievement of humanists’ preaching was the right of a person to fully satisfy the

needs as well as develop the abilities. The man was seen as a ‘divine to creature’,
‘ruler of nature’. Such ideas were argued in treatise ‘On the dignity of man’ by
humanist Pico della Mirandola. Consequently, the Italian Renaissance ‘revived’

not purely antiquity but the understanding of it. A man-creator (anthropocentrism)
was in the center of spiritual quest of humanists.
One of the most striking features of the Italian Renaissance was a new

understanding of art and science, its classes became worthy of a noble man. All
over a fragmented Italy where people spoke different dialects everyone recognized
artists Masaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Mykelandzhelo Buonarroti, Raphael,

Donatello and many others because their names were very famous.
However, the secularization of thought, its creative revolution affected only
the intellectual elite, educated part of the society. Therefore, numerous heresies
emerged gaining popularity among the lower strata of the population of city-

communes (‘Qatars’, ‘poor Lombards’, ‘followers of Savonarola’). Proponents of
these movements advocated the ideas of poverty and total equality. Moreover, they
saw the works of art and their creators as a source of temptation then destroyed

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