Renaissance

HumanismPrinting press

Dante & ChaucerArtists

Humanism New intellectual movement of

writers & artists; study of classic Roman & Greek society

Petrarch Founder of humanism

Stressed the importance of life on earth, not a future in heaven

Wanted the educated & wealthy to take active roles in the community

Printing press New technology of the Renaissance Movable type had been invented in China 1455: Johannes Gutenberg used it to print

the first book in Europe Gutenberg Bible

Within 50 years: over 1,000 printers More books in print, easily accessible Most were religious books Encouraged research & the public’s desire for

knowledge Ideas of the Renaissance & Reformation were

able to spread because of the printing press

Dante & Chaucer With the development of the printing press,

scholars pushed for the language of ordinary people (vernacular)

2 most popular works Dante’s Divine Comedy: journey through

hell, purgatory, & heaven: written in Italian Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales:

about a collection of pilgrims on their way to a holy place in England: written in English

Renaissance Man – Leonardo da Vinci Artist

Mona Lisa Last Supper Master at using perspective, realistic images

Scientist Observed nature Dissected the human body Engineer, architect

Excelled as: scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, writer

Da Vinci’s Last Supper

Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

Da Vinci Self-Portrait

Michelangelo Painter, sculptor, architect Works

Pieta Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel Sculpture of David

Painted frescos Focused on the ideal human form

as a reflection of divine beauty; more beautiful, the more godlike

Michelangelo’s David

Sistine Chapel