The Renaissance1300-1500
Terms, People, and Places to Know
• Humanism Patron
• Humanities Perspective
• Petrarch Leonardo da Vinci
• Florence Michelangelo
• Raphael Baladassare Castiglione
• Niccolo Machiavelli
A New Age
• Expression in thought
• Remarkable artist and thinkers
• Renaissance means “rebirth”
• 1300’s-1500s
Renaissance
• Time of creativity and great change
• Change in politics, social, economics and culture
• Agricultural society to urban society
• Trade is more important now
• Reawakened interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome.
• Latin was the language of the church
• Renaissance thinkers explored the richness and variety of human experience in the here and now.
• Individual achievement
• Renaissance Man: someone who was talented in many fields.
Expressing Humanism
• Intellectual movement known as humanism.
• Studied classical culture of Greece and Rome.
• Focus more on worldly objects and not religious issues.
• Education should stimulate the individuals creative powers.
• Humanities: grammar, rhetoric, poetry and history.
• Francesco Petrarch (PEE trahrk), Florentine who lived in the 1300’s, was a humanist, poet, and scholar. He is known as the father of Humanism.
CheckPoint
• What were the main characteristics of the Renaissance?
Italy
• Renaissance began in Italy.
• Italy was the center for the Roman Empire so the reawakening took place here.
• Architectural remains, statues, and coins were all available for people to study.
• Rome was also the seat of the Roman Catholic Church-patron of the arts-and as the center of Catholicism Rome also served as an inspiration for religious themes used by artist and writers.
Location of Italy
• Encouraged Trade
• Extensive banking, manufacturing, and merchant workers developed to support trade.
City States
• Italy was divided into many small city states.
• Each city state was controlled by a powerful family and was dominated by wealthy and powerful merchant class.
Medici Family
• Medici family of Florence was the richest merchants and bankers in Europe.
• Cosimo de’ Medici gained control of the Floretine government in 1434. Lorenzo, grandson of Cosimo, is known as “the Magnificent” was a clever politician. He was also a generous patron of the arts.
• Patron of the arts: financial supporter.
• Florence came to symbolize the energy and brilliance of the Italian Renaissance.
CheckPoint
• Why was Italy a favorable setting for the Renaissance?
Renaissance Art
• Renaissance art reflected the ideas of humanism.
• Portrayed religious themes-however they often set religious figures such as Jesus and Mary against classical Greek or Roman backgrounds.
• Portraits: individual achievement
• Sculptor Donatello created a life size statue of a soldier on horse back. First time any figure like this was done.
Techniques
• Realism
• Perspective: allowed artist to create realistic art
• 3 Dimensional
• Shading
• New oil paints to reflect light
• Studied human anatomy
• Drew while observing live models
Social Art
• Architecture
• Meant to blend beauty with utility and improvement of society.
• Columns, arches, domes
Leonardo Da Vinci
• Curious
• Sketches of nature and models
• Dissected corpses to learn how bones and muscles work.
• Mona Lisa
• The Last Supper (experimented with new paint)
• Artist
• Botany, anatomy, optics, music, architecture, and engineering
• Flying machines, undersea boats
Michelangelo
• Sculptor, engineer, painter, architect, and poet
• Melancholy Genius: b/c of his work reflecting his many life long spiritual and artistic struggle.
• David, Pieta (captures the sorrow of the Biblical Mary as she cradles her dead son Jesus on her knees).
• Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel
• 4 years to complete
• Partially crippled
• Depicted the biblical history of the world from the creation to the flood.
• Dome of St. Peters Cathedral in Rome.
Raphael
• Had his own style that blended Christian and classical styles.
• Madonna, Mother of Jesus
• The School of Athens ( Raphael pictured an imaginary gathering of great thinkers and scientist, including Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and the Arab philosopher Averroes. Also included are the greatest artist of the time: Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael.)
Checkpoint
• How were Renaissance ideals reflected in the arts?
Writing
• Castiglione
• Most widely read handbook was The Book of the Courtier.
• Baldassare Castiglione: describes the manners, skills, learning, and virtues that a member of the court should have.
• Was educated, well mannered and a master in many fields from poetry to music to sports.
Castiglione
Men
• Athletic but not overactive
• Good at games but not a gambler
• Plays a musical instrument
• Knows literature and history but is not arrogant.
Women
• Offers a balance to men
• She is graceful and kind
• Lively but reserved
• She is beautiful, “for outer beauty is the true sign of inner goodness.”
Machiavelli’s Prince
• Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a guide for rulers on how to gain and maintain power. He did not discuss leadership in terms of high ideals like those before him.
• The Prince looked real rulers in an age of ruthless power politics. The end justifies the means.
• Use whatever methods were necessary to achieve their goals.
• Deceit in politics is now referred to as “Machiavellian tactics.”
Checkpoint
• How did Renaissance writings express realism?
The Renaissance in the North
• Terms, People, and Places:
• Johann Gutenberg Erasmus
• Flanders Thomas More
• Albrecht Durer Utopian
• Engraving Shakespeare
• Vernacular
Printing Revolution
• 1455 Johann Gutenberg of Germany printed the 1st complete edition of the Bible using the printing press.
• Before the PP only a few 1,000 books
• By 1500 15-20 million volumes procedure
• Cheaper and easier
• More people learned to read.
• Knowledge about medicine, law, and mining
• Books exposed educated Europeans to new ideas and new places.
Checkpoint
• What was the impact of the printing press?
Northern Renaissance artists
• Began in the prosperous cities of Flanders, a region that included parts of present day northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
• From here the Renaissance spread to Spain, France, Germany, and England.
Flemish Painters
• Jan Van Eyck in the 1400’s was one of the most important Flemish painters.
• Portrayed townspeople as well as religious scenes around rich, realistic detail.
• 1500’s Pieter Brugel used vibrant colors to portray lively scenes of peasant life. Nickname: Peasant Bruegel.
• Drew religious and classical themes but set them against common people back ground.
• 1600s Peter Paul Rubens blended realistic traditions with classical themes and artistic freedom of the Italian Renaissance.
• Knowledge of mythology, the bible, and classical history.
Leonardo of the North
• German painter Albrecht Durer
• Interested in many things like Leonardo which earned him the nickname Leonardo of the North.
• Engraving
• Portray religious upheaval
Checkpoint
• What themes did Northern Renaissance artist explore?
Northern Humanists and Writers
• Stressed education and classical learning to bring about religious and moral reform.
• Many wrote in Latin
• Many began writing in vernacular-everyday language of ordinary people.
Erasmus
• Dutch Priest
• Born 1466
• Important scholar of his day
• Greek addition to the bible.
• Translation of the bible.
• Open minded, show good will toward others.
• Disturbed by the corruption of the church.
Sir Thomas More
• Wanted social reform
• Utopia: ideal society in which men and women live in peace and harmony.
• All are educated
• Justice is used to end crime not to get rid of the criminal.
Shakespeare Writes for All Time
• 1590-1613: he wrote 37 plays
• Complexity of the individual and the importance of the classics.
• Common language
• 1,700 words appeared for the 1st time
CheckPoint
• What Renaissance ideas did Shakespeare’s work address?