TWO MOVEMENTS, THE RENAISSANCE AND THE

REFORMATION, USHER IN DRAMATIC SOCIAL AND

CULTURAL CHANGES IN EUROPE

European Renaissance and Reformation, 1300-1600

Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance

During the late Middle Ages

Europe suffered from war and the plague

People began to question the Church

People wanted to celebrate life and the human spirit

The Renaissance

Renaissance (rebirth)-an explosion of creativity in art, writing, and thought. 1300-1600 Why Italy?

1. Thriving cities 2. A wealthy

Merchant Class 3. Classical

heritage of Greece and Rome

1. City-States

Crusades spur trade Growth of large city-

states in northern ItalyCities=places where

people exchange ideasIn 1300s bubonic

plague killed 60% of population, disrupts economy

With few opportunities to expand business, merchants began to pursue other interests, such as art

How did the cities of Italy help create the Renaissance?

City life included wealth, leisure time, and exchange of ideas

2. A Wealthy Merchant Class

Merchants More emphasis on

individual achievement

Dominated politics Banking family, the

Medici family, controls Florence Cosimo de Medici

1434 Wealthiest European at

time and dictator of Florence

Lorenzo de Medici 1464 (Cosimo’s grandson) Also dictator of

Florence Patron of the arts

3. Inspiration from Greece and Rome

Middle Ages art and architecture

Artists, scholars study Greeks and Romans (monasteries kept documents intact)

Christian scholars move to Rome after fall of Constantinople in 1453 and brought Greek manuscripts with them

Classical and Worldly Values

Study of classics lead to Humanism

Humanism Intellectual movement

focused on human potential and achievements

Humanists studied classical texts to understand Greek values in subjects such as1. History2. Literature3. Philosophy

How did study of the classics influence branches of learning such as history, literature, and philosophy?

Study of classical texts led to a different outlook on life, one emphasizing human potential and achievements.

The Good Stuff

Renaissance society was secular—worldly Even church leaders

Wealthy enjoyed fine food, homes, clothes, music

Humanists suggested that one can enjoy life without offending God

Patrons

Patron-a financial supporter of artists

Church leaders spend money on artworks to beautify cities

Wealthy merchants also patrons of the arts

The Renaissance Man

Excels in many fields: the classics, art, politics, combat

Baldassre Castiglione’s The Courtier (1528) (Should be charming, witty, well educated in the classics; should dance, sing, play music, and write poetry; should be a skilled rider, wrestler, and swordsman)

The book teaches how to become a “universal” person

The Renaissance Woman

Upper-class, educated in classics, charming

Expected to inspire art but not create it

Example: Isabella d’Este

Born in ruling class in Ferrara, Italy

Spoke Greek, Latin Musician, dancer,

patron of arts Home turned into art

museum Involved in politics

Revolution in Art

Artists use realistic style copied from classical art Portraits of

IndividualsPainters use

perspective-a way to show three dimensions on a canvas

Realistic Painting and Sculpture

Realistic portraits of prominent citizensSculpture shows natural postures and

expressionsThe Biblical David is a favorite subject among

sculptors

Donatello’s (1386-1466) David

East Door of the Baptistery in Florence

Created by Lorenzo Ghiberti’s

Michelangelo called it the “Gate of Paradise”

Ghiberti worked on it for 27 years from 1425-1452 10 panels in bronze

showing stories from the Old Testament

East Door of the Baptistery in Florence

Leonardo Da Vinci

1452-1519Painter, sculptor,

inventor, scientistRead his writings

by looking at them in a mirror

Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris

It is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, who at 16 married Francesco del Giocondo, a wealthy merchant of Florence who commissioned the portrait.

Notice the smile, the shadows, and the hands

Why is it famous??

Leonardo

Leonardo--sketches

The Last Supper (Milan)

Michelangelo Buonarroti

1475-1564Renaissance man

alsoPainter, sculptor,

architect, and poet

Statue of David in Florence, Italy

Sculpted from 1501-150418 feet tall

Michelangelo’s Pieta

Michelangelo’s Moses

Michelangelo’s Dome of St. Peter’s in Rome

The Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel in Rome

Michelangelo’s Last Judgment in Sistine Chapel

Raphael

1483 - 1520Younger than

Leonardo and Michelangelo

Learned by studying their works

Self portrait at right

Raphael

One of Raphael’s favorite subjects was the Madonna and child.

Sandro Botticelli

Self portrait and The Birth of Venus

Anguuissola and Gentileschi

Sofonisba Anguissola: first woman artist to gain world renown (self portrait at right)

Artemisia Gentileschi paints strong, heroic women (self portrait below)

How did the humanism of the renaissance reflected in its art?

Renaissance celebrates the human body and individual achievement.

Changes in Literature

New Trends in Writing

Writers use vernacular

Self-expression or to portray individuality of their subjects

Why was it important that writers began writing in the vernacular?

More accessible to everyday people; possible to read literature without learning to speak Latin

Petrarch

Father of HumanismWrote in Italian and

LatinSonnets (14 line

poems) became a model for lyrical poetry Typically about a

woman named LauraOne of the first people

to use the term “Dark Ages”

Boccaccio

DecameronThe stories are told

by a group of young people waiting in a villa in Florence to avoid the plague

Niccolo Machiavelli

The Prince – political guidebook

Examines how rulers can gain and keep power

To succeed a prince must be strong as a lion and shrewd as a fox.

The word Machiavellian describes any crafty or deceitful action used for one’s own advantage.

Why do you think Machiavelli’s writings remain popular?

People still interested in getting and keeping power.

Vittoria Colonna

Woman writer with great influence

Poems express personal emotions

She exchanged sonnets with Michelangelo and helped Castiglione publish The Courtier.

Italian Renaissance Activities

Renaissance Man: Review the article about

Leonardo Da Vinci being a “Renaissance Man”.

On a large sheet of paper, illustrate and include quotes and activities from the article that made someone a “Renaissance Man” OR

Create your own “Modern Renaissance Man” and include 10-15 qualities that make them that. Or

Create a resume for a “Renaissance Man” or one of the people we have discussed in Ch. 17-1.

Suggestions to a leader Read the primary

source reading of “The Prince”

Then write a “Top 15” list of qualities a good/successful leader needs to have.

Also include your “Top 15” suggestions on how a leader should obtain/keep power as a leader.

How did humanism influence Renaissance ideas?Focused on people and their achievements, so art

and thought became more concerned with the here and now

Why did church leaders and wealthy merchants support the arts?

Showed their importance by having portraits painted and decorating churches and other public places

What were the differences and similarities between upper-class Renaissance men and women?

Both were expected to know the classics, but most women lacked political power

What were the differences between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in the attitude toward pleasures?

In the Middle Ages, some people believed that denial of worldly pleasures would please God. During the Renaissance, many believed that god intended them to enjoy those things.

True or False

1. During the Renaissance, patrons of the arts were people who frequented many of art festivals.

False 2. The technique of perspective was used by

Renaissance painters to show three dimensions on a flat surface

True3. The Renaissance, a movement that started in

Germany and lasted 300 years, brought about a growth of creativity in art, writing, and thought.

False

4. The general emphasis of the Renaissance movement was religious.

False 5. The Prince, by Machiavelli, stated that people are selfish

and corrupt, and that a prince should be feared more than loved.

True 6. Some Renaissance writers wrote in the vernacular, or in

the author’s native language. True 7. An intellectual movement called humanism focused on

scientific information about the human body. False 8. “Renaissance men” were men who mastered many fields

of endeavor. True