renaissance rebirth of arts and learning (1300 – 1600)

Renaissance

Rebirth of arts and learning(1300 – 1600)

Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance

Why northern Italy a. central location in the Mediterranean b. wealth came from trade c. powerful city-states d. Roman heritage

What brought this “rebirth”

– Plague killed 60% of population

– Survivors demanded higher wages

– Economy rose, merchants thrived

– Legacy of Greece and Rome

MIDDLE CLASSMIDDLE CLASS

• Most powerful and wealthiest

• Earned their power, not inherited

– Gained status because of talent/wit

• Focus on individual achievement

– New idea of individualism

• Common people experienced the greatest change during the Renaissance

NEW VIEWS AND VALUESNEW VIEWS AND VALUES

• Humanism – Human potential and achievements

• Desiderius Erasmus and Francois Rabelais considered Christian humanist

– Studied classical Greek and Roman culture

• Secular – basic spirit of movement

– Here and now attitude (worldly)

MEDICISMEDICIS• Family in Florence 1400s

(great rulers and supporters of the arts)

– bankers, wool manufacturers, mining

• Cosmo de Medici 1434

– Bribed his way into power

• Lorenzo “the Magnificent”

– Grandson of Cosmo

– Kept town together during hard times

LiteratureNiccolo Machiavelli – The Prince,

a. one of most influential works on political power in the Western world

b. felt rulers had ultimate authority

Dante – Divine Comedy –

a. story of the soul’s journey to salvation

b. written in Italian vernacular (language spoken in one’s own regions)

Geoffrey Chaucer –

The Canterbury Tales –

a. told of 29 pilgrims journeying to the tomb of Saint Thomas

b. written in English vernacular

William Shakespeare

a. regarded as greatest playwright of all time

b. wrote over 1,500 plays c. actor d. shareholder in the Lord

Chamberlains Company e. master of the English language

Reformation• Martin Luther – protested

against the church for selling indulgences (pardoning of a sin and/or any penalty)

• 95 Theses – formal statements• Believed in spiritual

justification by faith alone

English Become Protestant

• Henry VIII – wants a divorce, Pope refuses.

• He bribes Parliament into passing the Act of Supremacy – made king head of the church

John Calvin

• Taught that men and women were sinful by nature

• Used predestination as main doctrine

• Everyone attended religion classes

John Knox• Followers were known as

Presbyterians

• Founded the church in Scotland

Society of Jesus

• Founded by Ignatius of Loyola

• Commonly called Jesuits

• Principal goal – education of children and missionaries

Anabaptists

• Greek for “baptize again”

• Refused to fight in wars

• Only adults baptism was valid

Council of Trent• Church’s interpretation of the

Bible is final

• Banned selling of indulgences

• Made list known as Index of Forbidden Books

• Books including Protestant Bibles were burned

Renaissance Art 3 greatest - all started an

apprenticeship under other masters a. Michelangelo, Raphael,

Leonardo Da Vinci b. all were a “Renaissance Man,” capable of many different works

in life

Michelangelo Di Lodorico Buonarroti Simoni

1475-1564

a.sculptor, painter,architect, mathematician and poet

b. Studied human anatomy

c. Battle of the Centaurs and Madonna of the Stairs – he was only 16 years old

d. Bacchus – 1496-98; pagan rather than Christian subject

e. Pieta – 1498 – 1500; only 25 years old, showed Virgin Mary holding body of dead Christ

f. David – 1501 – 1504; one of the most perfect of all statues by proportion

i. St. Peter’s Basilica –

1. largest church in all of Rome

2. church of the Vatican

3. used three rings inside the dome to hold its shape

g. Sistine Chapel – 1508 – 1512; 1. Pope Julius II – wanted 12

figures of the apostles, 2.painted over 300 life size

figures 3. 9 scenes from the Book of

Genesis – surrounded by images of the prophets and other Old Testament subjects

h. Last Judgement – 1535 – 1541;

1. largest fresco of the Renaissance

2. never completed

3. several faces of individuals who were speaking out against him

j. Florentine Pieta – 1550 1. last statue was for his own tomb 2. dissatisfied with his work 3. broke off a leg and damaged

arm of Christ and a hand of the Virgin Mary in anger

4. never finished the piece 5. Face of Joseph is in his own

image

2. Raphael Sanzio1483-1520

a. poet, painter, Sculptor,and architect

b. painted over 30 different “Madonnas”

c. designed several churches

d. known as greatest decorator who ever lived

e. completed 4 rooms for the Popes living quarters in the Vatican referred to as the Raphael Stanze

f. most famous paintings were The School of Athens (1511) and Sistine Madonna (1513)

3. Leonardo Da Vinci1452-1519

a. painter, sculptor, engineer, scientist, inventor, musician, goldsmith and botanist

b. Baptism of Christ (1476) shared work with his master

c. Mona Lisa (1503) – sold to Francis I

d. Last Supper – (1498), 15 X 29 ft; tempera on plaster

e. drawings for inventions include – glider, alarm clock, diving bell, helicopter, submarine, bicycle, parachute, mechanical limb movement (robot), automobile, repeating rifle (most were never built because of no suitable parts)

Reformation

Causes1. Roman Catholic Church

becomes more worldly

2. Humanists urge for a return to simple religion

3. Strong monarchs emerge

4. Selling of indulgences5. Luther’s 95 Theses6. Printing press7. Calvin and others preach

against Roman Catholic traditions

Effects1. Peasant revolts

2. Weakening of Holy Roman Empire

3. Luther calls for Jews to be expelled from Christians lands

4.Religious wars

5.New found religions

6.Jewish migration to Eastern Europe

Reasons for Success

1.Bibles in the vernacular

2.Religious rebirth (more on faith)