The Beginnings of the Renaissance
Contrasts between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance philosophy Middle Ages renaissance Chivalry Ethical system for upper class based on honor and respect (lower class not considered worthy of following the code of chivalry) Christian belief system Love God, love all, humble yourself, give to the church, etc. Humanism Potential of humans needs to be explored and discovered Humans are capable of doing anything; we just have to discover how Extreme humanism: This world’s endeavors are all that there is and it is up to Man to discern morality and humanity’s destiny.
Contrasts between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Social order Middle Ages renaissance Feudalism Where are you in the pie slices? Church leaders seeking earthly power Rediscovery of democratic ideas Nobility more determined by the monetary wealth of a family, rather than just heredity and land ownership Discovery of the wider world People could start over in the new world Capitalism Anyone can achieve monetary gain though free trade
Social Structures
Culture changed Crusaders brought back ideas Crusaders brought back artifacts Crusaders brought back scholars Political institutions shifted (power) Trade increased (money) Intellectual efforts increased (ideas)
Patronage With changes in the political situation, ruling powers emerged all over Europe Small feudal areas consolidated and became larger kingdoms with more powerful, richer rulers. What to do with all the money? Support the arts! Power + money + ideas = patronage
Influences on the early Renaissance War New ideas Growing middle class Increased trade Relative stability Increased status of the artist
Discoveries and changes in the early Renaissance Technology perspective: 1300’s printing press: 1446 Ideas: return to emphasis on Classical knowledge and literature. Discovery Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Balboa
The Sciences
Father of modern astronomy, physics and science
Galileo Developed the telescope Argued that the sun was the center of the universe Encouraged by the Medici family Tutored the Medici children Named the moons of Jupiter after them Housed by the family when the Inquisition was after him
The ARTS
The Medici Family They lived in Florence They were money lenders (bankers) They were filthy rich They developed a school for artists, encouraged musicians and philosophers. The arts flourished
Lorenzo di Medici
Artists and thinkers they funded Masaccio Ghiberti Donatello Fra Angelico Galileo Michelangelo Peter Paul Rubens
Donatello’s David - first free standing nude since the Romans - return to contraposto
Masaccio - Trinity > scientific perspective more realistic
The World “Wakes Up” Rebirth of Classical thought (Classical Greece, Roman politics, search for realistic beauty in art, etc.) Study of God the Supreme Being replaced by study of human being (reverse of Plato and Aristotle) Art was the means to explore all facets of life on earth
Benozzo Gozzoli Journey of the Magi
Major Breakthroughs Oil on stretched canvas—provided artists with a greater range of rich colors with smooth shading and value changes to represent textures and simulate three-dimensional form. Use of perspective—illusion of depth; lines in a picture converge on a vanishing point
Major Breakthroughs cont’d Use of Chiaroscuro—the use of light and shadow in a painting; lighter parts emerge from darker areas, producing the effect of sculptural relief Pyramid configuration—three dimmensional ordering of objects in which foreground, middleground are considered; ALSO, the triangular 2-D arrangement of objects (Mona Lisa)
Masaccio (1401 - 1428) Expulsion from the Garden of Eden Human figure painted as a real human being, not a linear column Mastery of perspective Constant source of light casting shadows
“The Tribute Money” (Shows a mastery of perspective) Further study: http://www.paradoxplace.com/Perspectives/Italian%20Images/Montages/Art/Masaccio%20Exhib.htm
Sandro Botticelli (c. 1485-86) “Birth of Venus” (Greek/Roman goddess)
Decorative linear style More like Byzantine art Nudes were a good example of renaissance styles
The Italians tried so passionately to recapture the former glory of Rome, that the classical myths became popular among educated laymen. To these men, the mythology of the admired Greeks and Romans represented something more than gay and pretty fairy-tales. They were so convinced of the superior wisdom of the ancients that they believed these classical legends must contain some profound and mysterious truth.
Piero Della Francesca (1420?-92) The Baptism (1442) Francesca was a skilled landscape artist He used sacred geometry in composing his paintings His works were frescoes and oil
Resur- rection (1463)
The Ideal City Perfect perspective Humanistic ideal?
Ghiberti: The Doors of Paradise
Baptistry Doors
Ghiberti (1381-1455) contained 10 squares, or reliefs, took 21 years to create Michelangelo called them worthy to be the Doors of Paradise
When he finished Ghiberti was asked to do another set of doors When he finished Ghiberti was asked to do another set of doors. They took 29 years to create. They depict the events leading to and the life of Christ.
Fra Angelico "it is impossible to bestow too much praise on this holy father, who was so humble and modest in all that he did and said and whose pictures were painted with such facility and piety."
Filippo Brunelleschi Sculptor and architect (1377 – 1446)
Florence Duomo The cathedral was so enormous that the usual methods of fixed scaffolding from the ground could not be used. It seemed quite impossible to roof over a space of 45.5 meters in diameter without some sort of reinforcement.
The challenge was resolved by Bruneleschi who was an expert in the rules of perspective and mathematics, as well as being a real enthusiast for the construction techniques used by the ancient Romans. He got his final inspiration from an attentive study of the cupola of the Pantheon, which had also been carried out without scaffolding and with a double wall. Construction of the dome took from 1420 to 1446
Florence Duomo