The Digital Renaissance
Written by Alfonso Elizondo
The incomparable beauty of the naked female body appeared for the first time, touching the earth with its delicate feet and giving a hint of its varied emotions in the beautiful oil paintings of the Earthly Paradise of Adam and Eve by Masaccio and Masolino that still survive in a secondary altar of the Church of Santa Maria Carmine, located on the north side of the Arno River in Florence. Humans of that time could not perceive that a new and wonderful way of seeing the real world in which they lived had emerged.
The vision of the world at that time was in only two dimensions, so the discovery that had been made in this chapel for almost a hundred years was neglected until Michelangelo created the incredible space of the Sistine Chapel that was recognized throughout the whole Western world and they realized that the third dimension had not been his invention, but that of the young genius Masolino, a disciple of Masaccio. However, the wealthy Florentines of that time barely invested a few millions in restoring the old, austere Romanesque structure of Santa Maria Carmine and half built a Gothic Church within it, but did not move their art, fashion or finance businesses that they have maintained in the historical center of Florence until the present day.
In fact, the wealthy Florentines did not put any of their companies in that area where there is a large square used for useless shows and to house a series of restaurants that, with few exceptions, offer poor quality and service and high prices. This facilitates the business of gastronomy tourism and the sale of so-called art and handicrafts, giving a space to the middle and lower class of Florence and keeping them very happy. Meanwhile, luxury hotels and stores that sell luxury goods, jewelry and very expensive items are still very successful and continue to occupy the old center of Florence in a very safe space, where there are no assaults and robberies only happen around the area of the markets and shops for the middle class and the poor.
The reason why I mention this case of the Chapel of Santa Maria Carmine in Florence at this point is that the society of that time was steeped in the religious, political and domestic myths that only allowed them to survive under difficult conditions, and so they complied with the regulations or legal systems imposed on them by their masters when they lived in a feudal society where the great lords were the owners of all personal and state power.
At the moment when the whole world is going through an unprecedented crisis, serious security problems, a serious migration crisis, and there is no longer a clear world order that separates the good from the bad, a huge conflict has arisen for humankind. The vast majority of countries that have managed to build a self-sufficient nation or region in the world feel the need to communicate it to the rest of the world, above all with a view to reinforcing their paranoia, xenophobia and the idea that there is something that actually justifies their useless and narcissistic lives.
In short, in the midst of this global crisis, the only thought can be that a new “renaissance” will have to emerge that will give new life to the decadent human being of the present world whose life in the last few centuries has been inspired by false myths or narratives that lead nowhere. That period in the fifteenth century saw the beginning of all the reality that humankind has lived in the last five hundred years, from the first photographs, the world of cinema, television, the business of transnational wars and all the digital developments that locate us in the present.
Addendum: Fortunately, all the public figures in the present world and the complex geopolitical conflicts that currently exist indicate that the end of this era is near and that the nations that caused the deaths of millions of innocent people, such as the cases of Germany, Japan, and the United States, are not capable of admitting their crimes.
However, the humans of the digital renaissance will have less violence, will control their emotions, their families will be smaller and perhaps their neuronal synapses will no longer be active to allow them to enjoy the unusual beauty of a naked female body as seen by the young Masolino in 1427. But there is no doubt that they will find a new dimension of beauty.