The Renaissance

I. The Renaissance Begins A. The word ‘renaissance’ means rebirth B. The renaissance lasted about 200 years (1350’s – 1550’s) C. Europeans focused on reliving & remembering the Greeks & Romans D. The renaissance began in Italy and then spread throughout Europe 1. It began in Italy because the city-states were in competition with each other and as they became wealthier, the rulers of the city states pushed artists and thinkers to do more and be more creative 2. The large populations of Italian city-states created an environment for more discussion and sharing ideas about art As the population grew, the Catholic Church became afraid of a strong Italian empire because they thought the Italians would try to control the church & the pope City-states did their best to stay independent because they were wealthy; if they became one country they would have to share their money

Merchants became wealthy for three reasons: Geography – center of the Mediterranean Sea & shipping routes The Crusades – brought Italians into contact with Arab merchants The Mongol Empire – United almost all of Asia into a giant trade network The merchant from Venice that met Kublai Khan was named Marco Polo When he returned he published a book about his travels The product that Florence (the city) became wealthy by trading was wool merchants would sail to England to buy sheep’s wool then take it back to Italy and make fine fabrics out of it To accommodate the various types of money from the outside world, merchants measured it all against the Gold Florin The richest bankers were the Medici family

K. The Venetians (people of Venice) built their cities on a series of small, swampy, islands 1. Because their cities were built on islands, they needed boats to get around. These boats were called gondolas Gondolas and other boats were made at a giant ship building facility called an arsenal L. Before trade became a popular way to make money, owning land was how people became wealthy Urban (city) nobles became rich through trade Urban nobles and rich merchants combined to form the new upper class

M. A republic is a government run by the people or citizens, rather than a king or queen N. In order to stay in power the rulers of the Italian city-states had to keep the poor from rebelling, prevent other wealthy people from seizing power, and make deals with merchants, bankers, landlords, church leaders, and mercenaries. They also had to deal with the rulers of other city-states O. Diplomacy is necessary to keep the peace between countries. It is the art of negotiating (making deals with other countries) P. Machiavelli thought that rulers should do whatever was necessary to stay in power, no matter what!!!

II. New Ideas & Literature A. Humanism is based on the values of the ancient Greeks and Romans such as the balance between faith and reason and encouraged men to be active in their cities and achieve great things B. After the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, many Byzantine scholars fled to Florence or Venice C. The Italians studied and learned from many things such as: ancient books, buildings, and statues One of the most famous artists, engineers, and scientists of the renaissance was Leonardo Di Vinci Humanism is based on the values of the ancient Greeks and Romans such as the balance between faith and reason and encouraged men to be active in their cities and achieve great things After the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, many Byzantine scholars fled to Florence or Venice Francesco Petrarch encouraged Europeans to look for Latin manuscripts in monasteries The most famous library as a result is the Vatican

G. The Italians studied and learned from many things such as: ancient books, buildings, and statues 1. One of the most famous artists, engineers, and scientists of the renaissance was Leonardo Di Vinci H. A book published during the renaissance called “The Divine Comedy” was written by Dante Alighieri 1. This book is divided up into three sections: Inferno (circles of hell), Pergatorio (terraces), and Paradisio(spheres of heaven). I. In order to make reading easier, many authors began writing in the vernacular 2. Vernacular is the everyday language of a region or area J. One of the most famous playwrights in history came from the renaissance era. He wrote such things as Hamlet, Macbeth, and Titus Andronicus. His name was William Shakespeare K. Another of the authors of the renaissance was Cervantes. His most famous work was called Don Quixote De La Mancha

III. Renaissance Art A. Wealthy Italians and church leaders would pay for paintings, sculptures, and buildings to be created and built B. Renaissance artists were more realistic because the medieval artists had already portrayed Jesus as the savior of the world C. Renaissance artists tried to show more emotion in their paintings. For example: if they were painting a birth scene of Jesus, they would try to show how tender Mary looked holding him D. A new development in painting to make it look more three dimensional was the use of perspective (painting or drawing things in an appropriate size to show distance)

G. A fresco is a watercolor painting done on wet plaster E. Some of the most famous renaissance artists were Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael Sanzio, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Titian Michelangelo was not just a painter. He was also a sculptor and building designer F. In order to soften the edges of paintings using light and shadow, painters used a technique called chiaroscuro G. A fresco is a watercolor painting done on wet plaster

Raphael’s School of Athens (Fresco)

H. After the beginning of the renaissance it moved throughout northern Europe I. As the renaissance moved north a new style of painting emerged using oil paints instead of just watercolors J. Some of the most famous artists of the northern renaissance were Jan van Eyck (from Belgium and used oil paints) and Albrecht Durer (from Germany and he mastered the art of perspective and engraving)