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9/14/15
1
The Renaissance The Rela1vely Quick, Hopefully
Painless Version
What is the Renaissance?
• How did the people involved feel about this period?
• Periodiza1on of history
What Historians are Saying
• The term Renaissance was created about 300 years later
• But ins1tu1ons that were vital for the “Renaissance” that came out of the High Middle Ages
All that being said… • There were s1ll significant changes that came out of the “Renaissance” which started in about 1400s
• Happened all over Europe but Italy becomes the focal point • Specifically Northern and Central Italy
Why Italy?
• There are a few reasons why Italy became such a focal point:
1. Natural gateway: you have to go past Italy in order to get to the rest of Europe
2. City-‐States: the trading power of Italy led to these large city-‐states which are always good places for intellectual pursuits (universi1es, libraries)
Why Italy con’t 3. Merchants and the
Medici: Merchants dominated poli1cs in these city-‐states because they became extremely wealthy from the trade • Most famous of these families was the Medici family out of Florence – They were a banking family that had branches throughout Italy and the rest of Europe
– They were huge supporters of the Renaissance ar1sts, including Michelangelo and Donatello
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Italy pt. 3 4. Heritage of Rome (and
Greece): the ruins of Rome were s1ll very visible in these places • The aqueducts were s1ll being used by most of these places
• The roads that the Romans had constructed for trading were s1ll in use
• Also Constan1nople fell in 1453 which forced many scholars out of the city and many brought the Greek and Roman “classics” with them
Classical and Worldly Values • Secularism in the Renaissance? – Non-‐religious feelings – Focus on the worldly stuff
• Humanism – the study of the La1n and Greek classics and of the Church Fathers for their own sake – And you had to read these works in the original language or you weren’t doing it right
Patrons of the Arts • With all the wealth that is being built up in Italy, the leaders of the city-‐states are looking for something to do with it so they start suppor1ng ar1sts – Some of this is city-‐states compe1ng with each other
• Church leaders did the same thing – St. Peter’s Basilica
The Ideal Man and Woman
• Ideal man: – Strove to master almost every area of study
– Baldassare Cas1glione – The Cour)er (1528)
• Ideal Woman: – Should know the classics and be charming but not seek fame
– They were expected to inspire art but not create it
– Excep1ons: • Isabella d’Este
– Married the leader of Mantua where she patronized many Renaissance ar1sts and built a famous art collec1on
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Revolu1ons in Art • Donatello – Carved his statues in natural poses, that had expression and personality
– The David is his most famous piece
• Leonardo di Vinci – Painter, sculptor, inventor, scien1st
– Mona Lisa is one of his most famous works but he also painted the Last Supper
• Michelangelo – Painter, sculptor, inventor, scien1st
– Heavily influenced by classical art and created figures that are heroic and powerful looking
– Sis1ne Chapel is one of his most famous works
• Raphael – Madonna and Child was one of his favorite topics
– The School of Athens is one of his most famous
• Sofonisba Anguissola – One of the few woman to gain prominence
– Known for pain1ng portraits of her sisters and King Philip II of Spain
• Artemisia Gen1leschi – Painted strong heroic women
– worked with her father, who was also her teacher
Changes in Literature • Wri1ng in the vernacular – na1ve language – Petrarch:
• One of the most influen1al humanists • “Father of the Renaissance” • Wrote sonnets about a mysterious woman
– Boccaccio: • Wrote the Decameron which was a collec1on of off color-‐stories
• Presents quite a lot of personality and flaws – Machiavelli:
• Wrote The Prince which was a way for him to gain favor with the Medici’s aier they had run him out of Florence
• “The ends jus1fy the means” • “Its beker to be feared than loved”
– Vikoria Colonna • She wrote to Michelangelo, exchanging sonnets • Helped Cas1glione publish his The Cour)er
The Northern Renaissance • Spread of Ar1s1c Ideas – Dürer (German) • Famous for woodcuts and engravings
– Jan van Eyck (Flemish) • One of the first to use the newly developed oil based paints with techniques that painters today s1ll use
• Pain1ngs display unusually realis1c details and reveal the personali1es of his subjects
– Peter Bruegel (Flemish) • Skillful at portraying large groups of people • Used scenes from everyday life like weddings, dances, and harvests
• Bright colors, vivid details, and balanced space
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Northern Writers • One of the most famous is Erasmus from the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) – He translated the New Testament from Greek
– He taught at Cambridge where he wrote The Praise of Folly, a sa1rical examina1on of society in general and the various abuses of the Church
– Hugely important for the Reforma1on even though he never rejected the Catholic Church
Northern Writers • Chris1ne de Pizan
– First woman to ever earn a living as a writer
– One of the first Europeans to ques1on the different treatment of boys and girls in The Book of the City of Ladies
• Thomas More – Tried to model a beker society using a term called “utopia” which by the way is taken from Plato (a Greek thinker) • Wanted policies governed by reason
– Canonized as a Catholic saint aier he was killed by Henry VIII
• Shakespeare – Loved using the classics in his plays – Many of his plays exam human flaws
The Inven1on of the Prin1ng Press
• Johann Gutenberg – Never actually made any money off his prin1ng press because he decided to print a bible
– However, this becomes amazingly important in history, especially for the Reforma1on and Scien1fic Revolu1on
Legacy of the Renaissance • Changes in the Arts – Drew on techniques and styles of classical Greece and Rome – Pain1ngs and sculptures portrayed individuals and nature in more realis1c and lifelike ways
– Focus on classical literature and its imita1on
• Changes in Society – Prin1ng Press! – People began to ques1on poli1cal structures and religious prac1ces
– Sets the stage for the Reforma1on – Changes the way people related to each other literarily with the availability of vernacular works