RENNAISSANCEThe 5 W’s

This is the beauty of the ancient Greeks and Romans

Visiting the sculptures in Rome

The world went from the expression of idealized beauty of Greek sculpture and the realism of Roman sculpture to the

symbolic and decorative (?) art of the Middle Ages.

What is the Renaissance?THE ”REBIRTH” OF CIVILIZATION AFTER 1000 YEARS OF

THE MIDDLE AGES ALSO REFERED TO AS THE DARK AGES.

RebirthRebirth refers to both refers to both a rediscovery of a rediscovery of ancient classical texts ancient classical texts and learning (mostly and learning (mostly ancient Greek and ancient Greek and Roman) Thus Roman) Thus RenaissanceRenaissance can refer can refer to this rebirth of to this rebirth of classical learning and classical learning and knowledge or to the knowledge or to the ensuing rebirth of ensuing rebirth of European culture. European culture.

WHY Did It Happen? The Black Plague theory for the rise of the Renaissance

In the 14th Century, it is estimated that up to one-third or more of the population of Europe died of the plague.

• The plague was indiscriminate; it affected kings and serfs, priests and peasants, the pious and the sinful.

• Fervent Christian beliefs did provided protection from it.• This led people to think more about life rather than the

afterlife. During the Middle (Dark) Ages the people of Europe believed their time on earth was to prove there worth for entering heaven. There emphasis was more on the hereafter than the here and now.

• This, together with the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg (1450s) and the rediscovering of the humanistic philosophies from the Ancient Greek Roman era ( such as Aristotle, Plato and Socrates) created the intellectual climate for the emergence of Humanism- the interest in man and his relationship with the world around him.

More on the WHY and some of the WHERE-The Dawn of a New Age

• About 1450, European scholars became more interested in studying the world around them. Their art became more true to life. They began to explore new lands -to seek life and new civilizations-to boldly go where no man has gone before . These are the stories of explorers like: Bartholomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus-this was the beginning of the Age of Exploration. Handbooks, guides, and charts, along with the invention of more sophisticated and practical nautical instruments. Crucial to these innovations were Muslim and Jewish contributions in mapmaking and navigational instruments.

• The Renaissance began in northern Italy and then spread through Europe. Italian cities such as Naples, Genoa, and Venice became centers of trade between Europe and the Middle East. Arab scholars preserved the writings of the ancient Greeks in their libraries. When the Italian cities traded with the Arabs, ideas were exchanged along with goods. These ideas, preserved from the ancient past, served as the basis of the Renaissance. When the Byzantine empire fell to Muslim Turks in 1453, many Christian scholars left Greece (and Constantinople) for Italy.

Humanism• Many Renaissance scholars looked to the past for inspiration.

In the works of the classics they found a spirit similar to theirs that valued innovation in this world rather than looking forward to the next world after death.

• A person who studied the classics was called a humanist. Humanists recreated classical styles in art, literature, and architecture. Humanists believed that by studying the classics, they could understand people and the world better. One humanist wrote, “To each species of creature has been allotted a peculiar and instinctive gift. To horses galloping, to birds flying, comes naturally. To man only is given the desire to learn.”

• The humanists emphasized the importance of human values instead of religious beliefs. Renaissance humanists were often devout Christians, but their promotion of secular, or non-religious, values often put them at odds with the church.

• Today we refer to the study of literature, philosophy and art as the humanities.

Sounds lovely this must have been a peaceful time….NOT !

City-states in Italy-Where the Renaissance started. • Northern Italy was divided into a number

of warring city-states, the most powerful being Milan, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Genoa, Ferrara, and Venice.

• Northern Italy was further divided by the long running battle for supremacy between the forces of the Papacy and of the Holy Roman Empire. Each city aligned itself with one faction or the other, yet there was internal divisions within the cities. They used mercenaries.

• There were also wars with France (supporter of the Emperor) 1494

• The Sack of Rome by Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V 1527.(Spanish German troops)

•It was a time of the bloody It was a time of the bloody Inquisition of the marranos Inquisition of the marranos and Jews of Spain 1478-92and Jews of Spain 1478-92

The Italian City-States• At the time of Renaissance, Italy was made up of numerous city-states that were

geographically situated to benefit from the revival of trade that had developed as a result of the Crusades.

• The northern city-states of Florence, Venice, and Genoa acted as middlemen in the lucrativetrade with the East. These Northern independent city-states marketed goods such as wool, silk, and other products to countries in Europe and Asia. They became prosperous centers of banking, trade, and manufacturing.

The cities of Northern Italy also benefited from being able to absorb stimulating new ideas from their advanced Byzantine and Muslim neighbours on the Mediterranean Sea. By 1350, the city-states of Florence, Venice, and Genoa were urban regions with a population of about 100,000, a large figure by medieval standards. The conditions were right for these cities to undergo a cultural explosion.

WHAT was the influence of the Renaissance on the ARTS?

• The Renaissance was much more than simply studying the work of ancient scholars. It influenced painting, sculpture, and architecture. Paintings became more realistic and focused less often on religious topics. Rich families became patrons and commissioned great art. Artists advanced the Renaissance style of showing nature and depicting the feelings of people.

• Learning and the Arts began to flourish during the Renaissance• Crusaders returned to Europe with a newfound understanding of the

world. • The invention of the printing press encouraged literacy and helped to

spread new ideas. • Wealthy families (usually merchants/successful businessmen and

bankers) and the church had amassed enough wealth to become patrons. • The development of financial techniques such as bookkeeping and credit

allowed merchants to prosper.

•flourishing of artistic and scientific activities beginning in Italy in the mid 1300s

•The rise of the individual (The great invention of the Italian Renaissance was the creation of the "individual," the notion that human experiences and abilities should not be trivialized but in fact celebrated—that man was, in fact, "the measure of all things.)"

•a reconnection of the west with classical antiquity

• the absorption of knowledge: mathematics, science- (Copernicus and the Heliocentric Universe-1514 )

and Inventions (Gutenberg’s printing press-1448)

•The awakening of a desire for beauty

•Start of the age of exploration

•a focus on the importance of living well in the present

Points to Remember

Early Renaissance The start of the Renaissance is almost universally

ascribed to Central Italy, however, especially the city of Florence

This 'Florentine Enlightenment' was a major achievement. The city sought to live up to the republican ideals of ancient Athens and Rome. Sculptors used Roman models and classical themes. This society had a new relationship with its classical past — it felt it owned it and revived it. Florentines felt akin to 1st century BC republican Rome.

Florence-Centre of the Early Renaissance

• Florence, is located in the hill country of north-central Italy. It prospered because of the wool industry. Sheep were raised in the rock hill country of central Italy, and Florence was a center of wool processing. During most of the Renaissance, wealthy merchants dominated Florence.

The merchants became the newly rich (before it was royalty and the church) They competed with one another by building grand palaces for themselves. The merchants were patrons of the arts. Patron comes from the Latin word for father. They hired artists to fill their homes with beautiful paintings and sculptures. Patrons bought rare books and paid scholars to teach their children. The money and encouragement of patrons together with that of the church, made the masterpieces of Renaissance art possible.

The Medicis-(Rise of the Merchants)• In the 15th century, the leading families of

Florence decided they needed a strong person in charge to lead them against the growing threat of rival cities. They chose Cosimo de Medici, a wealthy banker, to take control of the government (the original business of the Medicis was pharmaceuticals which are reflected in their coat fo arms). Cosimo maintained the appearance of republican government, but he appointed his relatives and people he could control to important positions. When Cosimo died in 1464, his son and grandson continued his policies. The Medici maintained control by exiling people who disagreed with them and encouraging other Italian cities to form alliances with Florence.

•The best known of the Medicis was Cosimo’s grandson, The best known of the Medicis was Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo, who was known as “Lorenzo the Magnificent.” Lorenzo Lorenzo, who was known as “Lorenzo the Magnificent.” Lorenzo was not only a shrewd banker and clever politician; he was also was not only a shrewd banker and clever politician; he was also a scholar and a poet. Under Lorenzo’s leadership, Florence a scholar and a poet. Under Lorenzo’s leadership, Florence became one of the most beautiful and prosperous cities in Italy, became one of the most beautiful and prosperous cities in Italy, as well as a center of the Renaissance.as well as a center of the Renaissance.

Who- the Artists

• The Renaissance patrons wanted art that showed joy in human beauty and life’s pleasures. Renaissance art is more lifelike than in the art of the Middle Ages. Renaissance artists studied perspective, or the differences in the way things look when they are close to something or far away. The artists painted in a way that showed these differences. As a result, their paintings seem to have depth.

Art is going to evolve bringing back the beauty, proportions and realism of the

classics.

Retro Greek/Roman art with a modern humanistic twist

The following slides illustrate The following slides illustrate the evolution from Gothic art the evolution from Gothic art

to Early Renaissance.to Early Renaissance.

GIOTTO

• An artist from Florence named Giotto was one of the first to paint in this new style. Giotto lived more than a century before the beginning of the Renaissance, but his paintings show real emotion. The faces are more individual and realistic. The bodies look solid( more shading as well), and the background of his paintings shows perspective. The art produced during the Renaissance would build upon Giotto’s style.

Cimabue Gothic-Madonna of Sana Trinita•1280 Byzantine-

•gold background (symbol of heavenly light)

•Flat chair

•All the angels have the same faces and the prophets have the same faces -they play the same role

•Modonna face not natural (looks like an alien)

Madonna-1310

Giotto was an apprentice to Cimbue

Student beats the Master

Giotto-The student beats the master (just a little story)

• Giotto was born in poverty in the countryside near Florence, the son of Bondone, a peasant, and was himself a shepherd.

• The legend (as reported by Giorgio Vasari in his Lives of the Artists) holds that at the age of 12, whilst his father was tending the sheep, Giotto was drawing on rocks with chalk. The artist Cimabue happened along and saw young Giotto drawing a sheep, so natural and so perfect that Cimabue immediately asked Giotto's father if the boy could come with him as an apprentice to study art. His father agreed, and thus Giotto's career would have started in Cimabue's bottega. Another story in Vasari's Lives depicts Giotto as a playful apprentice, painting a fly on the nose of a figure with such skill that his teacher Cimabue made numerous attempts to brush the fly away. This legend foreshadows the life-like painted figures that would come to characterize Giotto's work.

• He stands as the key link between the Byzantine art of the late middle ages, and the more realistic and humanistic art which flowered in the Renaissance.

Gentile Da Fabriario-Adoration of the Maji

• Painted for the Strozzi family, another merchant family in Florence (textiles) and rivals of Medici. Strozzi was exiled from Florence by Cosimo Meici.

• Fabriario lived three years in of the Strozzi’s houses while painting this commission (remember the artists worked for commission, they had little say in the subject manner).

• The painting is very vibrant with real gold and silver in a relief form ( this image does not do it justice). Carved plaster would first be placed on the painting, then gold leaved. The painting would happen after.

1423 3mx 2.8m-1423 3mx 2.8m-Tempra on woodTempra on wood

• Landscape is painted• Realistic- real animals• Depth- spatial perspective

and some lineal perspective• Mary is in blue- shows

importance, blue was made from ground Lapis Luzure from Afghanistan-extremely expensive

• Commissioned by Strozzi so the Magi are wearing the rich clothes from their company (a very expensive ad- you want to be important enough to meet the Virgin Mary wear Strozzi fabrics)

• The artist is looking forward, and the patron is beside him holding a bird

Paolo Uccello : Battle of San Romano, c. 1455, tempera on wood, 3.2 x 1.8 m, National Gallery, London.

•Where the Florentines beat the Duke of Milan (fighting between city-states)•Use of Perspective and Foreshortening

Paolo Uccello : Battle of San Romanoc. 1438, tempera on wood, 2.2 x 1.8 m, Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

Commisioned by Cosimo Medici

Flippo Lippi (what a character)• Parents died when he was young and he was brought up by his aunt

from the ages of 2- 8 years old• She couldn’t handle him so she sent him off to the monastery to

become a monk• It is also said that-Early on he was captured by Moors whilst out boating

and sold into slavery in Africa, then later freed and returned to Italy• He was not a very good monk- he had many, many, girlfriends• But he was an excellent artist, but he could not stick to it (ADD?).

Cosimo (the elder) Medici commissioned a painting by Flippo it took hem 7 years

• Once Cosimo locked him in his room for days but he climbed out of the window using sheets to visit his love- Lucrezia Buti (who was also a nun)

• It’s said they had two children together

This was the patron- he died before Flippo finished so he looks dead-it reads in latin- “He finished the work”

John the Baptist-patron saint of Florence and chosen personal saint of the patron (always wears fur)

We’re suppose to be looking att he Virgin Mary above, but we are drawn to the woman looking at us on the bottom right (also many

angels are looking at her- that’s Lucrezia Buti , his lover (also wearing the same colours as Mary)

The bored Monk is Flippo,

bored of the painting,

what else?

Coronation of the Virgin – 1439-47

Filippo Lippi and Assistance

Filippo Lippi- Madonna with Child and Two Angels-1465•Belief that the young woman is Lucrezia , the num scandalously loved by the friar/painter, who gave him a daughter and a son (it has been suggested the little boy angel is Filipino who grew up to be a famous painter himself)•Notice how they are stepping out from the frame•Very delicate composition•The background (painting within a painting) seems to anticipate the future expressive landscapes of Leonardo da Vinci

Fashionable look in the Renaissance Duke and Duchess of Urbino 1472 (realism of Rome-Humanism)

•High forehead (plucked or shaved hairline•Blonde hair (dyed hair using________)•Pale skin (the high class did nto work in the field) used white makeup with______•She was unusually pale because she was already dead and he was using her death mask

Piero della Francesca

Andrea Mantega- Dead Christ (c. 1490Tempera on canvas, 68 x 81 cm, Milan

•He used extreme foreshortening. (Parts get smaller as the recede in space)•Looking in we see an almost monstrous spectacle: a heavy corpse, seemingly swollen by the exaggerated foreshortening. At the front are two enormous feet with holes in them; as well as the nail holes in the hands; on the left, some tear-stained, staring masks.•Strong realism-the wrinkled face of Christ

Sandro Botticelli-

Florentine painter neglected for centuries but now probably the best-loved painter of the Early Renaissance. Sandro trained with Filippo Lippi, who was the most important influence on his style. By temperament he belonged to the current of late 15th-century art whose art sometimes bordering on sentimentality, a feminine grace, and an emphasis on the ornamental and evocative capabilities of line.

Adoration of the Maji- 1475 1.11m x 1.34 m

1.  Lorenzo the Magnificent2.  Poliziano3.  Pico della Mirandola4.  Gaspare Lami (a broker who footed the bill)5.  Cosimo the Elder6.  Piero the Gouty (Lorenzo's Dad)7.  Guiliano de' Medici  (Lorenzo's younger brother, later murdered in the Pazzi Conspiracy)8.  Giovanni de' Medici (younger brother of Piero the Gouty)9.  Filippo Strozzi10.  Joannis Argiropulos11.  Sandro Botticelli12.  Lorenzo Tornabuoni

Who’s who- If you’re a Medici your’re good enough to meet the Holy Family (remember the Strozzi’s commissioned artwork on the same theme)

Botticelli-PrimeveraUffizi Gallery Florence(1481-82)- Tempra on wood 2.0 m x 3.1 m

Three Graces- may be a symbol of Liberality

Venus as a symbol of spring, being adorned with the flowers of the three Graces

Winged Zephyrus who chased and possessed the nymph Chloris and them married her giving her the gift of germinating flowers

Smiling figure – transformation of Chloris into Flora, the Roman goddess of Spring

Cupid- blidfolded god of LoveMercury- herald of Jove- symbol of knowledge-wisking away the clouds of winter

• Example of the Roman/Greek culture on the Renaissance- not a Christian related theme

• It’s seen as the return to a golden age in Florence

Botticelli- Birth of Venus (1482)- Tempra on canvas 1.8 m x 2.8 m

•Scene based on traditional mythology. The god of the winds, Zephyr, Scene based on traditional mythology. The god of the winds, Zephyr, and the breeze Aura are in a tight embrace, and are gently driving Venus and the breeze Aura are in a tight embrace, and are gently driving Venus towards the shore with their breath. She is standing naked on a golden towards the shore with their breath. She is standing naked on a golden shining shell, which reaches the shore floating on rippling waves. There, a shining shell, which reaches the shore floating on rippling waves. There, a Hora of Spring is approaching on the tips of her toes, in a graceful Hora of Spring is approaching on the tips of her toes, in a graceful dancing motion, spreading out a magnificent cloak for her. More creative dancing motion, spreading out a magnificent cloak for her. More creative than realistic, she looks more like a statue.than realistic, she looks more like a statue.•Pastel colours (added white alabaster to paint) SERENE and GRACEFUlPastel colours (added white alabaster to paint) SERENE and GRACEFUl

Sculpture- Donatello (the first of our Ninja Turtles)• Donatello’s bronze "David" is

believed to be the first free-standing nude statue since Greco-Roman times.

• Almost Life size (1.6 m)• "David's" stance suggests a

new self-awareness of his physical form a combination of classic style and renaissance expression (pride, dignity)

• Symbolizes the victory of the small and self sufficient against the brute force of the larger opponents

• Sculpted in the Greek’s contraposta style (the weight of the on one leg, the shoulders and the hips counterbalanced each other in a natural way so the figure does not fall over).

•David (1430-1432)- David (1430-1432)- BronzeBronze