A new beginning for Europe
After the fall of Rome to barbarians their culture was lost for many years Islamic merchants discovered the works and translated them into Arabic and preserved their history
Early Renaissance More realistic bodies High Renaissance Italy (end of 15 th C) Depth (perspective) Idealistic bodies Classical themes/Religious Emotions
Marry Magdalene David
Mona Lisa -> Last Supper
School of Athens Sistine Madonna
Sistine Chapel The “spark” David
Realistic Facial Expressions Attention to detail Often a focus on Christian themes or everyday life
Realistic portrayals of bodies greatly impacted science/medicine Although not considered nobles art became a respected occupation any could join
Three new focuses during the Renaissance A focus on the individual Growth of secularism Revival of the Classics
Artists Merchants: People that traded goods Received goods from Asia-Africa to Italy and spread to the rest of Europe Humanists: Students/Teachers, these people thought that by studying the classics one could improve their life
Machiavelli: Said it was better to be feared than loved as a political leader. Also said that in politics you may need to go against your morals to help the nation Erasmus: Said that good Christian characteristics were key to being respected and followed by your subjects
Francesco Petrarch: Writer and poet. He believed a study of classical writers would improve society. He also wrote in the vernacular Dante: Wrote the Divine Comedy also in the vernacular. Inferno, Purgatorio, Paraiso
Thomas More: Famous for his work entitled Utopia Claimed that government was corrupt and that ownership was bad for society Starting of Socialism William Shakespeare: Most famous English author. Realistic characters
One of the keys to the spread of knowledge was merchants Second key was Johannes Gutenberg Printing press made it possible to mass produce books Increased literacy