The Renaissance1300s-1600sThe transition from medieval times to the early modern world
What was the Renaissance?• A time of creativity and great changes in many areas, including:– Political change– Social change– Economic change– Cultural change
Italian Trade Routes
Ancient Greece and Rome• Renaissance thinkers reawakened an interest in classical learning –Ancient Greece and RomeThey looked to the past to make their lives better and more culturally advanced• Latin was the language of the Roman Catholic Church and scholarly worksWho read and understood Latin?
The Renaissance Person
• Explored the richness and variety of the human experience
• Was a multi-talented individual• Supported a spirit of adventure
What do you think the Roman Catholic Church thinks of this new outlook on life?
Humanism
The intellectual movement at the heart of the Renaissance
Humanists studied classical culture from ancient Greece and Rome
Humanists focused on worldly subjects
Education
• Humanists believed education would stimulate the individual’s creative power
• Humanities- grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history
Notable Renaissance Humanist
• Francesco Petrarch- early Renaissance Humanists, assembled a library of manuscripts
• He would study and compare copies of manuscripts
How were manuscripts copied?
Francesco Petrarch
Why Italy?• Renaissance thinkers had an interest in ancient Rome• Italy’s location supported trade• Trade made Italian merchants wealthy• These wealthy merchants became patrons of their cities
Roman Catholic Church
The center of the Roman Catholic Church is the Vatican. The Vatican is located within Rome. The church
supported artists and scholars.
Map of Italy
Major Italian CitiesVenice
Milan
Genoa
Florence
Milan: one of the richest cities in Europe,it controls trade through the Alps.Venice: Sitting on the Adriatic Sea, it Attracts trade from all over the world.Florence: controlled by the deMedici family,Who became great patrons of the arts.Genoa: had access to trade routesLocated in the Mediterranean Sea
All of these cities:• 1. Had access to trade routes connecting Europe with Middle Eastern markets• 2. Served as trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe• 3. Became wealthy because of trade
Italian city-states• Each city-state was controlled be a powerful family• Each city state was dominated by a wealthy and powerful merchant class• Wealthy merchants were political and economic leaders• Wealthy merchants emphasized the importance of art and personal achievement
Medici family• Ruled Florence• Among the richest merchants and bankers in Europe• Cosimo deMedici- gained control of Florence in 1434
Lorenzo the Magnificent• Cosimo’s grandson• Clever politician• Kept Florence flourishing• Patron (financial supporter) of the arts• Invited poets and artists to the Medici palace
Florence
• Medici family wealth transformed Florence• Symbolized the energy and brilliance of the Renaissance• Produced a number of poets, artists, architects, scholars, and scientists
Renaissance Artists
• wanted their subjects to be realistic, created realistic art
• Focused on humanity and emotion• Used new techniques: shading and new oil
paints• Sculptured emphasized realism and the
human form• Architecture reached new heights of design
New Techniques
Frescos• Painting done on wet
plaster• Gave depth to paintings
Perspective• Making distant objects
appear smaller than those close to the viewer
• Made scenes appear 3-D
Leon Alberti
• Described architecture as a social art- meant to blend beauty with utility and function.
A Dome- The Courthouse
Filippo Brunelleschi
• Created a dome in Florence- il duomo• Modeled after the Pantheon
Il duomo Pantheon
Leonardo daVinci
• Renaissance genius• Considered himself a painter, but he was also
a sculptor, architect, and engineer• Sketched nature, humans, and animals• Dissected corpses to learn how the human
body works
A sample of daVinci’sanatomysketches
daVinci’s famous paintings
Mona Lisa- portrait of a woman whose mysterious smile has baffled people for centuries
Is daVinci Mona Lisa?
The Last Supper
A masterpiece of perspective
daVinci’s inventions
Inventor, botany, anatomy, optics, music, architecture, engineering.
Michelangelo Buonarroti
• Sculptor, engineer, painter, architect, poet• Called a “meloncholy genius”- his work
reflects his many life long spiritual struggles
The Davidfamous statue
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u8LDXhFzPo
The PietaMary and Jesus
The Sistine Chapel
• Took four years to complete• Commissioned by Pope Julius II
• http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html
Raphael
• Admired for his talent and his sweet and gracious nature
• Studied great masters, but developed his own style
• Famous work: School of Athens• Imaginary gathering of great thinkers and
scientists (Plato, Aristotle, Socrates to name a few)• He included himself in the picture along with
Michelangelo and daVinci
The School of Athens
Raphael in the back
• Wrote The Book of the Courtier• Describes the manners, skills, learning, and
virtues that a member of the court should possess.
• Ideal courtier- well educated, well mannered aristocrat who mastered many fields(poetry, music, sports, etc..)
Baldassare Castiglione
Castiglione's Ideal Person
Men1. Athletic2. Good at games3. Plays musical instruments4. Knows literature and history
Women1. Pretty“outer beauty is the true sign of inner goodness”
• Wrote “The Prince” a guide for rulers on how to gain and maintain power
• Did not discuss ideals, but looked at real rulers in an age of ruthless power politics
• Stressed “the end justifies the means”• Urged rulers to use whatever methods were
necessary to achieve their goals
Niccolò Machiavelli
• Machiavelli saw himself as an enemy of oppression and corruption
• Critics attacked his advice, said it was too cynical• Machiavellian- came to refer to the use of deceit in
politics• Raises ethical questions about government and
power• Can you give an example of a modern leader who
follows Machiavelli’s advice.
Machiavelli continued…