“The Renaissance” Renaissance means “Rebirth” It was a cultural movement that began in Italy (Florence) in the Middle Ages, which later spread to the rest of Europe. Between 14th-17th Centuries Before the Renaissance, Europeans lived in a period we call the Middle Ages.

During the Middle Ages: Europeans were concerned with the church and religion. Everyone's activities centered around getting to heaven rather than life here on earth. The Black Death, a plague that killed one third of Europe's people (an estimated of 34 million people) made daily European life scary and dangerous. To escape the danger, at least in their minds, people turned to God and the church. EFFECTS: Caused massive depopulation and change in social structure. Weakened influence of Church.

Characteristics of the Middle Ages Art,( the period before the Renaissance): Most art in Europe featured heavenly figures devoted to the worship of Christ. Because the people in Medieval paintings were citizens of heaven, and the artists painting these pictures had never actually seen heaven, the background was left to the imagination and the teachings of the church. Gold backgrounds were very common, as the air in heaven surely must be precious.

Duccio di Buoninsegna Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints from Siena Cathedral, Siena, Italy 1308-1311 tempera on wood 7 ft. x 13 ft.

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi Annunciation 1333 tempera and gold leaf on wood

Cimabue Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets 1280-1290 tempera on wood 12 ft. 7 in. x 7 ft. 4 in.

MAP OF EUROPE IN 1470

MAP OF ITALY-1400’S

In ART: A change of view on Humankind begins: The worth of the human being Humankind is God’s greatest creation, as opposite of the beliefs during the Middle Ages: Men is only important to serve God and to seek salvation of the soul. The ability of Humankind was recognized. Optimism. In ART: When people became more interested in the world around them and the ideas of other people rather than heaven and the teachings of Christ and the saints, landscapes and buildings began to show up in paintings, copying real life (beginning of the Renaissance).

Types of Renaissance Proto Renaissance in Italy Northern Renaissance (1400-1525) Jan van Eyck, Van der Weyden, Hieronymus Bosch Early Renaissance in Italy Early Renaissance in France High Renaissance in Italy (1425-1525) Da Vinci, Bellini, Michelangelo, Rafael, Titian German Renaissance

Characteristics of the REINASSANCE Painters needed to be able to translate the three-dimensional world around them onto the two-dimensional surface of a painting, called the "picture plane." Use of "linear perspective“ discovered by architect Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446). Idea that converging lines meet at a single vanishing point. Part of this change was influenced by the study of ancient Greek and Roman writings on scientific matters, government, philosophy, and art. Scholars turned away from traditional areas of study such as religion, medicine and the law and became interested in other areas of science, the natural world, biology and astronomy. People now studied mathematics, engineering, and architecture. Artists, writers, musicians and composers began creating work outside of the church. Artists signed their work and authors wrote autobiographies and memoirs — stories about themselves.  

The holy family of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus are joined here by shepherds and an angel in the center playing a lute. The landscape around them is earthly rather than heavenly.   Giovanni Agostino The Adoration of the Shephards 1510. Oil on panel