17.1 The Italian Renaissance is a rebirth of learning that produces many great works of art and literature. David ( ), Michelangelo

 The Renaissance  Renaissance—an explosion of creativity in art, writing, and thought  Started in northern Italy  Lasted from

 Merchants and the Medici  A wealthy merchant class develops  More emphasis on individual achievement  Banking family, the Medici, controls Florence  Looking to Greece and Rome  Artists and scholars study ruins of Rome, and study Latin and Greek manuscripts  Scholars move to Rome after the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

 Classics Lead to Humanism  Humanism—intellectual movement focused on human achievements  Humanists studied classical texts, history, literature, and philosophy  Worldly Pleasures  Renaissance society was secular—worldly  Wealthy enjoyed fine food, homes, and clothes

 Patrons of the Arts  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, and combat

 The Renaissance Woman  Upper-class, educated in classics, charming  Expected to inspire art but not create it

 Artistic Styles Change  Artists use realistic style copied from classical art, often to portray religious subjects  Painters use perspective—a way to show three dimensions on canvas  Realistic Painting and Sculpture  Realistic portraits of prominent citizens  Sculpture shows natural postures and expressions  The biblical David is a favorite subject among sculptors (although he looks more like a classical Greek)

Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel

 Leonardo, Renaissance Man  Leonardo da Vinci— painter, sculptor, inventor, scientist  Paints one of the best- known portraits in the world: the Mona Lisa  Famous religious painting: The Last Supper

Left: Mona Lisa Above: The Last Supper

THE VITRUVIAN MAN STUDIES OF A FETUS FROM LEONARDO'S JOURNALS

INVESTIGATING THE MOTION OF THE ARM ORGANS OF A WOMAN’S BODY

Design of a flying machine based on bat’s wings

 Raphael Advances Realism  Raphael Sanzio, famous for his use of perspective  Favorite subject: the Madonna and child  Famous painting: School of Athens

 New Trends in Writing  Writers use the vernacular—their native language  Self-expression or to portray individuality of the subject

 Machiavelli Advises Rulers  Niccolo Machievelli, author of a political guidebook, The Prince  The Prince examines how rulers can gain and keep power

 Vittoria Colonna  Woman writer with great influence  Poems express personal emotions

By the late 1400s Renaissance ideas spread to northern Europe, especially France, England, Germany and Flanders

 By 1450 population starting to bounce back after bubonic plague, and the Hundred Years’ War had ended  Cities grew rapidly and wealthy  Urban merchants could sponsor artists

Italy was divided into city-states, but England and France united under strong monarchs and rulers often sponsored artists Francis I of France, purchased Renaissance paintings and invited Leonardo da Vinci to retire in France Francis I also hired Italian architects to rebuild his castle at Fontainebleau, which became a showcase of French renaissance

Best known were Desiderius Erasmus of Holland and Thomas More of England The two were good friends Erasmus More

 Received honors from kings, princes and cardinals for his brilliant writings  Most famous book, The Praise of Folly, poked fun of greedy merchants, heartsick lovers and pompous priests  He wrote it while staying at Thomas More’s home  He believed in Christianity of the heart, not one of ceremony and rules  Also believed that all people should read the bible in order to improve society

Chinese invention of block printing helped spread Renaissance ideas throughout Europe During the 13 th century, European printers began using block printing to create whole pages to bind into books This process was too slow John Gutenberg reinvented moveable type around 1440 and made it more practical

Each block was carved by hand with each character in position which meant a completely new carved block for each page

Gutenberg later invented a printing press- a machine that presses paper against a full tray of inked moveable type The first full-size book printed with moveable type was the bible- known as the Gutenberg Bible, printed in 1455 Had a revolutionary impact on society Enabled a printer to produce hundreds of copies, all exactly alike

The invention of movable type was made from a durable metal that could be cast from a mold rather than hand-carved from wood

For the first time, books were cheap enough that people could buy them By 1500, presses in about 250 cities had printed between 9 and 10 million books! At first, just religious books were printed, then travel books and medical manuals were printed Availability of books encouraged people to read causing a spike in literacy

 Writing in vernacular languages increased because those who didn’t have “classical” education could read in their own language  Printers printed the Bible in vernacular, allowing more people to read it  People started to interpret the bible for themselves and became more critical of priests behavior  This leads to demands for religious reform