Overview: Focuses on three ideals: humanism, secularism, and individualism. The elite culture of the quattrocento in the city-states of the Italian peninsula borrowed from the ancient cultures of Greece and Rome. New concept of individualism and secularism appeared through art and literature led by the middle class, despots, and republicans Ideas: Humanism: non-clerical writers concerned with secular issues, rejected in Northern Renaissance. Christian humanism: Erasmus and Thomas More promoted a blend of religion and classical literature.

Quattrocento (15 th century) City states Pagan The Medici Family Leonardo da Vinci Michelangelo Buonarroti Petrarch Boccaccio Baldassare catiglione Niccolo Machiavelli Desiderius Erasmus Thomas More Johann Gutenberg Albrecht Durer Elizabethan age Secularism Humanism individualism

The Italian Renaissance Italian City-States: trade centers of the Roman Empire, took advantage of the proximity of the sea and established a seagoing trade with eastern Mediterranean. Venice, Genoa, and Pisa controlled trade with Middle East and Asia Rome, Naples, and Milan thrived as manufacturing and market centers. Bankers made loans to the popes and monarchs

Why the Renaissance in Italy first?: 1.A major trade route between Europe and Asia. 2.Spread ideas from different cultures around the world. Arab mathematics and technology, Asian ideas and products 3.The creation of a powerful merchant and banking middle class 4.New wealth encouraged appreciation of earthly pleasures and diminished dedication to pious traditions 5.The world could be changed without the help of God, money is power

The Medici family Ruled the Grand Duchy of Tuscany of which Florence was the principal city into the 18 th century: 2 popes, many cardinals and two queens of France belonged to the family. Giovanni de Medici 1429: ignored the churches prohibitions of lending for interest to provide the necessary funds for a changing world economy, he molded the modern world. Cosimo de Medici : Giovanni’s son allied with other powerful families of Florence, became unofficial ruler of the republic

Lorenzo the Magnificent : Cosimo’s grandson became the republics ruler and patron of the arts. Personified living life rather than waiting for its fulfillment after death. He supported the creative talent of Florence.

Individualism Instead of disdain for the concerns of this world, people now valued involvement and living an active life. The Renaissance man was an all around man: good with the pen, brush, sword, lover, poet, painter, and conversation. Lived up to potential and excelled in all endeavors.

The commercial class and the govt. supported the arts, even though religious in nature the faces were filled with emotion and artist revealed individuality of style. Architecture: adopted Greco-Roman symmetry, classical columns, arch and dome Filippo Brunelleschi Leon Battista Alberti

Sculpture was freestanding, not designed to fit in niches of chruches and showed nude subjects in the Greek tradition. Lorenzo Ghiberti Michelangelo Buonarroti Painting religious but different from medieval art because of oil paints and the illusion of three dimensions created by precise variation of size (perspective) Giotti Massaccio Sandro Botticelli Raphael Leonardo da Vinci

Humanism: writers focused on issues of politics and personal concern outside the realm of religion, writing as a profession not for the church. They wrote in Italian not Latin. Dante: “Divine Comedy” Petrarch: wrote sonnets in Italian ebb and about life Boccaccio: “Decameron” tales about the human condition Leonardo Bruni: : wrote the first modern history

Baldassare Castiglione: wrote “The Book of the Courtier” a manual for the manners of the modern civilized gentleman. Niccolo Machiavelli: wrote “The Prince” the first political science work. Laura Cereta: early feminist taught moral philosophy wrote “Epistolae Familiars” familiar letters

Renaissance ideals spread to Northern Europe: Germany, England, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Holland. Religion (Christian humanism) was emphasized in the north. Social reform through Christian values and an emphasis on reforming all of society through better Christian living pietism were the hallmarks of the Northern Renaissance. Curiosity for knowledge spread but northern Europe based their research on the bible, art, and engineering.

Science and technology: Johann Gutenberg: printing press interchangeable parts allowed for ideas, propaganda, and education ideas to spread. Books cheaper for all, reading became an individualized activity which was a huge impact and lead to the reformation because many felt they did not need the Catholic priest to be God’s intermediary and religion became more individualized