Lesson 2.2

Learning Targets

•To explain the importance of the Renaissance to the modern times

•To identify famous persons and their contributions to the Renaissance

UPDATING OUR TIMELINE

1300s476 – 1200s

The Middle Ages

1400s 1600s

The Renaissance

Transition to Modern Times

The Dark Ages

Renaissance means rebirth at the time when Europe was recovering from the

Dark ages and the plague.

It was a by-product/result of the crusades which allowed Europe to

change ways of life, ways of thinking, values and social norms

the human spirit had to be reawakened

• People became less interested in thinking about God, heaven and saints

• More interested in thinking about themselves, surroundings and everyday lives

• Artists, writers, musicians and composers began creating work outside the realms of the church

During the middle ages

– Find God

During the Renaissance

– Find man

Where did it begin and why?

•Italy

City-states of Florence, Milan, Venice, and Genoa

•Major Trading Centers which gave wealth to many merchants

•Direct inheritors of the glorious

Roman civilization in the ancient

times

Major Italian Cities

MilanMilan VeniceVenice

FlorenceFlorence

Genoa

All of these cities:

Had access to trade routes connecting Europe with

Middle Eastern markets

A new "world view" was created - the way one looked at and answered basic

questions:  

What are humans?  What is the purpose of life?

 Why am I here?

…and so…

A New Conception of Human Beings

 Individualism. People thought it right to be themselves - the great man can shape his own destiny  Humanism. Humans are the center of the universe and the "measure of all things."  Well-Roundness. Humans could do well at many things: "The Renaissance Man."  

Humanism• Pursuit of individualism

• Recognition that humans are creative

• Appreciation of art as a product of man

How did the Crusades contribute to the Renaissance?

• Increased demand for Middle Eastern products allowing for more people to participate in trade and commerce

•The rise of the middle class who could afford to become a Patron of the Arts

Political Ideas of the Renaissance

Niccolò Machiavelli

The PrinceMachiavelli believed:

“One can make this generalization about men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit”

Machiavelli observed city-state rulers of his day and produced guidelines for the acquisition and maintenance of power by absolute rule.

He felt that a ruler should be willing to do anything to maintain control without worrying about conscience.

• Better for a ruler to be feared than to be loved. MIGHT MAKES RIGHT

• Ruler should be quick and decisive in decision making

• Ruler keeps power by any means necessary• The end justifies the means

• Be good when possible, and evil when necessary

Medieval art and literature focused on

the Church and salvation

Renaissance art and literature focused on

individuals and worldly matters, along with

Christianity.

They wanted their subjects to be realistic and focused on humanity and emotion

Frescos: Painting done on wet plaster became popular because it gave depth to

the paintings

Sculpture emphasized realism and the human form

Architecture reached new heights of design

MEET THE RENAISSANCE

ARTISTS

Born in 1475 in a small town near Florence, is considered to be one of the

most inspired men who ever lived

David

Michelangelo created

his masterpiece David in

1504.

Interpretation:

• The key to the David's appeal is Michelangelo's magnificent projection of man at his best - vigorously healthy, beautiful, rational, competent. It expresses a heroic view of man and of a universe auspicious to his success. Such a projection is of immeasurable worth to anyone who holds such a sense of life - whether that person lived 500 years ago or lives today.

Sistine ChapelAbout a year after

creating David, Pope Julius II summoned

Michelangelo to Rome to work on his most famous project, the ceiling of the Sistine

Chapel.

Creation of Eve Creation of Adam

Separation of Light and Darkness

The Last Judgment

• Michelangelo used bright colors, easily visible from the floor. On the lowest part of the ceiling he painted the ancestors of Christ. Above this he alternated male and female prophets, with Jonah over the altar. On the highest section Michelangelo painted nine stories from the Book of Genesis.

La Pieta 1499Marble Sculpture

• In less than two years Michelangelo carved from a single slab of marble, one of the most magnificent sculptures ever created. His interpretation of the Pieta was far different than those previously created by other artists. Michelangelo decided to create a youthful, serene and celestial Virgin Mary instead of a broken hearted and somewhat older woman.

Moses

1452-1519

Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Engineer

Genius!

Mona Lisa

The most famous and iconic painting in the world

• Thought to be Lisa Gherardini also known as La Giaconda – wife of Francesco del Giocondo who commissioned da Vinci to make a portrait of his wife.

The Last Supper

• Found in Sta. Maria del Grazie, Milan Italy (a Dominican Monastery)

• It portrays the different reaction given by each apostle as Jesus said one of them would betray him. All twelve apostles have different reactions to the news.

Notebooks

RaphaelPainter

1483-1520

The School of Athens

Pythagoras

Socrates

Plato and Aristotle

Euclid

Zoroaster & Ptolemy

Raphael (back)

Jan Van Eyck

Portrait of Giovanni

Arnolfini and his Wife (1434)

Northern Renaissance

Van Eyck

Portrait of Giovanni

Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)

How did classical knowledge of the ancient Greeks and Romans foster humanism in the

Italian Renaissance?

Humanism

• Celebrated the individual

• Stimulated the study of Greek and Roman literature and culture

• Was supported by wealthy patrons

PetrarchSonnets, humanist

scholarshipFrancesco Petrarch

1304-1374

Assembled Greek and Roman writings.

Wrote

Sonnets to Laura,

love poems in the Vernacular

Literature flourished during the RenaissanceThis can be greatly attributed to Johannes

GutenbergIn 1455 Gutenberg printed the first book

produced by using moveable type.

The Bible

Erasmus Dutch humanist

Desiderius Erasmus

Pushed for a Vernacular form of the Bible

“I disagree very much with those who are unwilling that Holy Scripture, translated into the vernacular, be read by the uneducated . . . As if the strength of the Christian religion consisted in the ignorance of it”

The Praise of Folly

Used humor to show the immoral and ignorant behavior of people, including the clergy. He felt people would be open minded and be kind to others.

Sir Thomas MoreEnglish Humanist

Wrote: Utopia

A book about a perfect society

Believed men and women live in harmony. No private

property, no one is lazy, all people are educated and the justice system is used to end crime instead of executing

criminals.

Bibliography

Images from:

Corbis.com

Web Gallary of Artwww.wga.hu