The Renaissance

Factors that Contributed to the Beginning of the Renaissance Trade and commerce increased Cities grew larger and wealthier Newly wealthy merchants and bankers supported the growth of the arts and learning The Renaissance was an age of recovery from the disasters of the 14th century, such as the plague, political instability, and a decline of Church power Recovery went hand-in-hand with a rebirth of interest in ancient culture (e.g., ancient Greece and Rome) A new view of human beings emerged as people in the Italian Renaissance began to emphasize individual ability

What was the Renaissance? The Renaissance was a cultural movement and a time of renewal (Europe was recovering from the Dark Ages and the Black Death/Bubonic Plague) Renaissance means “rebirth” of classical knowledge and “birth” of the modern world (new intellectual and artistic ideas that developed during the Renaissance marked the beginning of the modern world)

Where did the Renaissance begin? Italy Italian Cities Urban Societies Major Trading Centers Secular Movement People lost their faith in the church and began to put more focus on human beings and material possessions

When did the Renaissance Take Place? Roughly the 14th to the 17th century

How did the Crusades contribute to the Renaissance? Crusades (1095 – 1291) = Religiously sanctioned military campaigns waged by Roman Catholics against Muslims who had occupied the near east since the Rashidun Caliphate (founded after Muhammad’s death in 632, the Rashidun Caliphate was one of the largest empires of the time period) Increased demand for Middle Eastern products Stimulated production of goods to trade in Middle Eastern markets Encouraged the use of credit and banking

What about the Black Death? Widespread fear of the disease Loss of faith in the church Focus on life

Italian City-States Because Italy failed to become united during the Dark Ages, many independent city-states emerged in Italy. Each city-state was controlled by a powerful family and dominated by a wealthy merchant class. Their interest in art and emphasis on personal achievement helped to shape the Italian Renaissance. Example: The Medici family of Florence ranked among the richest merchants and bankers in Europe; they ruled Florence for over 70 years.

Major Italian City-States Milan One of the richest cities, it controls trade through the Alps. Major Italian City-States Venice Located on the Adriatic Sea, it is a major trade route between Asia & Europe. Milan Venice Florence Controlled by the Medici Family, who became great patrons of the arts. Genoa Florence Adriatic Sea Genoa Had Access to Trade Routes Rome Rome Headquarters of the Catholic Church Tyrrhenian Sea All of these cities: Had access to trade routes connecting Europe with Middle Eastern markets • Served as trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe

Centralized Power One governing authority (ex. U.S. Federal Government; principals) controls power over several smaller entities (ex. State governments; teachers)

What makes a good leader? On a separate sheet of paper, make a list: What positions call for leadership? Ex. Principal What characteristics do good leaders have? Ex. Fairness What powers or skills does a leader need to get things done? Ex. Good connections

Political Ideas of the Renaissance Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) An Italian Philosopher and Writer based in Florence during the Renaissance The Prince (Published in 1532) Machiavelli believed: “One can make this generalization about men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit” Machiavelli observed city-state rulers of his day and produced guidelines for how to gain and maintain power. Absolute Rule He felt that a ruler should be willing to do anything to maintain control without worrying about conscience.

Activity Read and annotate the excerpt from The Prince. Then, using your list of characteristics of a leader, make a Venn diagram: In the overlapping area, what both you and Machiavelli think of as essential traits, skills, or powers of a leader of a nation On the left, what you look for in a leader of a nation but Machiavelli doesn't On the right, what Machiavelli wants in a leader of a nation but you don’t

Better for a ruler to be feared than to be loved Ruler should be quick and decisive in decision making Ruler keeps power by any means necessary The end justifies the means Be good when possible, and evil when necessary Today, the term “Machiavellian” refers to the use of deceit in politics

Cultural and educational reform The study of classical culture (ancient Greece and Rome), in contrast with the study of things related to the church and religion Celebrated the individual Was supported by wealthy patrons (financial supporters)

The Renaissance produced new ideas that were reflected in the arts, philosophy, and literature. Patrons, wealthy from newly expanded trade, sponsored works which glorified city-states in northern Italy. Education became increasingly secular.

Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation Classical art showed the importance of people and leaders, as well as gods and goddesses Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation Renaissance art and literature focused on the importance of people and nature, along with religion

Classical Art History Alive! Pg. 316 ‘Discobolus’ Figures were lifelike but often idealized (more perfect than in real life) Figures were nude or draped in togas (robes) Bodies looked active, and motion was believable Faces were calm and without emotion Scenes showed either heroic figures or real people doing tasks from daily life

Medieval Art Most art was religious, showing Jesus, saints, people from the Bible, and so on Important figures in paintings were shown as larger than others around them Figures looked stiff, with little sense of movement Figures were fully dressed in stiff-looking clothing Faces were serious and showed little feeling Paint colors were bright

Renaissance Art Artists showed religious and nonreligious scenes Art reflected a great interest in nature Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional, reflecting an increasing knowledge of anatomy Bodies looked active and were shown moving Figures were either nude or clothed Scenes showed real people doing everyday tasks Faces expressed what people were thinking Paintings were often symmetrical (balanced, with the right and left sides having similar or identical elements)

But, at the start of the 14th century During the Middle Ages, art and learning were centered on the church and religion But, at the start of the 14th century People became less interested in thinking about God, heaven, and the saints More interested in: Themselves Their surroundings Their everyday lives

Secular Humanism Secular- not religious Humanism- placing the study and progress of human nature at the center of interests

Rise of Humanism in Art We will look at paintings and discover specific clues to tell the difference between paintings from the Renaissance and earlier works of art

Very early Renaissance painting, so it contains characteristics of the Middle Ages Halos? Halos- heavely beings. Pairs of saints and angels around the outside are smaller than the Madonna and chuld- making the most important figures larger than less important Hieratic scale

Compare the background- it was common in the Middle Ages to use all gold backgorunds to symbolize the holy atomosphere. Durinf the Renaissance they were much less interested in heaven and more in the world around them… surroundings would be more true to life. Does St. Martin of Tours wear a halo? Hieratic scale?

Do they have halos. How are they different from those in the 1st Do they have halos? How are they different from those in the 1st? Describe the landscape- heavenly or earthly? OIL PAINT- layers, more lifelike and realistic

Later than the others, hieratic scale? Why not? Any halos? Tempera or oil paont?

Buildings true to life? Mathmatical formulas were invented that allowed artists to represent space in very believable ways- Accurate perspective Can you tell the difference between saints and orginary people? Heaven and the church began to be a part of everyday life

Latest of the ones we have seen… Latest of the ones we have seen…. But now ordinary people are becoming worthy subjects of art. Is he a saint? Oil painting?

Lesson 5 Objectives SWBAT: Cite artistic, literary, and philosophical creativity, as contrasted with the medieval period, including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Petrarch Compare the Italian and the Northern Renaissance, and citing the contributions of writers

New Techniques also emerged. Renaissance artists embraced some of the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome in their art. The purpose of art would no longer be to glorify God, as it had been in Medieval Europe. Artists wanted their subjects to be realistic and focused on humanity and emotion. New Techniques also emerged.

Art and Patronage Italians patrons (financial supporters) were willing to spend a lot of money on art Art communicated social, political, and spiritual values and therefore, the consumption of art was used as a form of competition for social & political status.

What was different in the Renaissance? Realism Perspective Emphasis on individualism Geometrical arrangement of figures Light and shadowing Softening of edges Artist able to live from commissions

Characteristics of Renaissance Art

1. Realism & Expression Expulsion from the Garden Masaccio 1427 First nudes since classical times.

2. Perspective First use of linear perspective! Perspective! The Trinity Masaccio 1427 Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! First use of linear perspective! What you are, I once was; what I am, you will become.

4. Emphasis on Individualism Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre: The Duke & Dutchess of Urbino Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.

5. Geometrical Arrangement of Figures Leonardo da Vinci 1469 The figure as architecture! The Dreyfus Madonna with the Pomegranate

6. Light & Shadowing/Softening Edges Sfumato: gradual blending of one area of color into another without a sharp outline Chiaroscuro: use of light and shade Ginevra de' Benci, a young Florentine noblewoman who, at the age of sixteen, married Luigi Niccolini in 1474.

Born in 1475 in a small town near Florence, is considered to be one of the most inspired men who ever lived; he was a sculptor, painter, engineer, architect, and poet.

Michelangelo created his masterpiece David in 1504. The Biblical shepherd, David (who killed Goliath) recalls the harmony and grace of ancient Greek tradition

What a difference a century makes!

Sistine Chapel About a year after creating David, Pope Julius II summoned Michelangelo to Rome to work on his most famous project, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Depicts the biblical history of the world from the Creation to the Flood

Separation of Light and Darkness Creation of Adam Creation of Eve The Last Judgment Separation of Light and Darkness

Pieta 1499 Marble Sculpture Captures the sorrow of the Virgin Mary as she cradles her dead son, Jesus on her knees

Moses

Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Mathematician, Engineer 1452-1519 Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Mathematician, Engineer

Mona Lisa (1503-1506)

Jesus and his apostles on the night before the crucifixion The Last Supper (1495-1498) Jesus and his apostles on the night before the crucifixion

Notebooks Leonardo da Vinci dissected corpses to learn how bones and muscles work

Raphael Painter 1483-1520

An imaginary gathering of great thinkers and scientists The School of Athens Perspective Subjects are mainly secular, but can be religious Figures look idealized, but can also look like everyday ordinary people Bodies are active Clothed or unclothed Faces are expressive Detail 1510 Fresco Vatican City An imaginary gathering of great thinkers and scientists

Pythagoras Plato and Aristotle Socrates

Raphael (back) Euclid Zoroaster & Ptolemy

The Renaissance in northern Europe (outside Italy) Northern Renaissance The Renaissance in northern Europe (outside Italy) There was increased cultural exchange between European countries Printed materials helped to spread ideas Centralization of political power made the northern Renaissance distinct from the Italian Renaissance (e.g., nation-states instead of Italian city-states)

• Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas. • Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity. • The movable type printing press and the production and sale of books (Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate ideas and allowed more people to become educated.

Literature flourished during the Renaissance and spread Renaissance ideas, which can be greatly attributed to Johannes Gutenberg. In 1455 Gutenberg printed the first book produced by using moveable type, The Bible, and started a printing revolution that would transform Europe. Literacy rates increased

Petrarch Poet, Humanist scholar Francesco Petrarch 1304-1374 Assembled Greek and Roman writings Wrote: Sonnets to Laura (Love poems in the Vernacular) Influenced William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare 1564-1616 English poet and playwright Well-known plays include: Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet Influence and Impact on the Renaissance: He expanded the dramatic potential of characterization (his characters were very complex), plot, language (creative), and genre

Erasmus (1466-1536) Dutch humanist Pushed for a Vernacular form of the Bible “I disagree very much with those who are unwilling that Holy Scripture, translated into the vernacular, be read by the uneducated . . . As if the strength of the Christian religion consisted in the ignorance of it” Wanted to reform the Catholic Church Wrote: The Praise of Folly Used humor to show the immoral and ignorant behavior of people, including the clergy. He felt people would be open minded and be kind to others.

Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) English Humanist Wrote: Utopia A book about a perfect society in which men and women live in harmony, there is no private property, no one is lazy, all people are educated and the justice system is used to end crime instead of executing criminals

Important to Remember Accomplishments in the visual arts – Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael Accomplishments in literature (sonnets, plays, essays) – Petrarch, Shakespeare Accomplishments in intellectual ideas (humanism) – Erasmus