Burckhardt, who has been close to art and architecture since his childhood, turned his attention to Italy and the Renaissance after Franz Kugler's art history lessons, which is considered a new discipline.
(1818-1897) Swiss historian. He made important studies on the cultural history of the Renaissance period. Jacob Christoph Burckhardt was born on May 25, 1818, in Basel, Switzerland, and died in the same city on August 8, 1897. His father was the pastor of Basel Cathedral. At his request, he started studying theology at the University of Basel in 1837 but left it halfway to turn to the field of history.
He studied at the University of Berlin from 1839 to 1843. In those years, he took lessons from historians representing the contemporary understanding of history such as Leopold von Ranke, August Boeckh, Johann Gustav Droysen, and Franz Kugler, and from philologist Jacob Grimm. Burckhardt, who has been close to art and architecture since his childhood, turned his attention to Italy and the Renaissance after Franz Kugler's art history lessons, which is considered a new discipline. He went to Bonn University for a semester. He became friends with the art historian Gottfried Kinkel and joined the artist's community around him. After returning to Berlin, he did not cut his ties with this community.
He returned to Basel in 1843. He worked as a political correspondent for the conservative newspaper Basler Zeitung. He also taught art history at the University of Basel. Between 1846 and 1847 he stayed in Berlin to help reorganize two of his friend and teacher Kugler's books on art history. After spending the winter of 1847-1848 in Rome, he returned to Basel. In 1855 he was called to the Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich. However, he returned to Basel in 1858 as a professor of ordinary history. Until 1893 he was the only professor of history at the University of Basel. Beginning in 1847 he taught both history and art history, and after retiring in 1886 he taught only in art history.
Burckhardt's most important work is Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien (Renaissance Culture in Italy). Burckhardt interpreted the Renaissance movement as a cultural renewal in his work. According to him, this innovation should be considered a revolution according to medieval art. The characteristic of medieval societies was that people bowed to community life. The Renaissance, on the other hand, was the liberation of oneself by overcoming it and declaring the freedom of one's personality. Thus, a new creative force emerged.
The feature in Burkchardt's book was not understood for a long time. The later importance and value of the work can be attributed to three different features. The first was the controversy among historians that his thesis on the Renaissance created, the second factor was the development of an anti-collectivist attitude among European intellectuals. Among the intellectuals who first discovered Burckhardt is Nietzsche, one of the representatives of this movement. The third factor is that Burckhardt's suspicion about democracy is the 19th century that developed in Europe. the end has been to conform to the currents of thought.
Although Burckhardt's works emerged at a time when the romantic movement was at its strongest, it is not possible to identify him with the romantics. Even as a student, he had reacted to the thoughts of a philosopher like Shelling, who saw life force even in inanimate beings. From this point of view, it is necessary to see Burckhardt in pursuit of a science that tries to apply some objective criteria to the history of culture. Burckhardt's resemblance to the romantics, 19th century. He accused Western civilization of destroying the aesthetic and spiritual values of life.
An important aspect of Burckhardt's reputation stemmed from his suspicion of European democratic development and the appreciation of intellectuals who shared this suspicion. The age of revolutions that began in 1830 had plunged him into deep pessimism. The expansion of democracy through revolutions meant for him the destruction of European civilization and the opening of a barbaric era. The shaping of the future would be under the control of what Burckhardt called the "terrible Simplificateurs," a simple and simplistic group of primitive intellectuals who, relying on their knowledge, would not hesitate to crush anything.
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The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy—The Life and Times of Jacob Burckhardt
https://www.wondriumdaily.com/life-of-jacob-burckhardt/