Renaissance and Reformation Section 1: The Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance  Means rebirth, an era where philosophy and art flourished.  Renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman literature and life.  Power of human reason as opposed to Christian Teachings.  Many advances in arts and sciences

Principles of Renaissance Era Renaissance Thought Supporting The Arts Admiration for Individual Achievement Education, Critical Approach Should live a Meaningful life Belief in Human Dignity

Causes  Constantly reminded of the Roman empire through the ruins.  Trade and crusades spread ideas and brought people in contact with the Byzantines who preserved Greek culture and ideals.  Increased wealth led to increased interest in leisurely activities and the arts.

Isabella D’Este o Used her extreme wealth to support the arts. o Considered a fashion Icon, (clearly) o In order for the arts to be supported, artists needed financial backing.

Humanists  People who studied ancient Greek and Roman literature, history, and lifestyle became known as humanists.  Humanism celebrated individuals and their achievements  Humanist thought embodied what the Renaissance was about.  Humanists were mostly catholic, but started feeling tension between their beliefs with Humanism and Religion.

Renaissance Artists

Leonardo Da Vinci  Architect, Engineer, painter, sculptor, and scientist  His interest in science and anatomy influence the realism in his paintings.

Michelangelo

Renaissance Vs. Medieval Art Two drastic styles that show the evolution of thought.

Medieval Art Religious purpose Used to teach religious tones to those who could not read Reality wasn’t important, the most important issue was show religious figures.

During Medieval times people became very good at reading these types of images. Certain items or objects would appear in stories that would represent different characters or events in the bible. For example, Mary was often pictured in blue, and anyone with a halo with a cross in it, was known to be Christ. These were known as symbols and during the medieval times, they were very obvious

Renaissance Art  Realism  Perspective  Symbolism  Still related to religion, but new ideas and subjects became prevalent  Greek mythology

Perspective Because people started studying mathematics and the world more, and because artists did not have to create art that was so otherworldly for the church, they began to want to portray the world as it really was. They began to experiment to try and paint pictures that conveyed the deep space of the world around them. From this study and experimentation artists learned how to use linear perspective, to mathematically convey the sense of deep space in their paintings

In this painting you can see how the lines in the background converge towards a single point. This is called linear perspective and gives the illusion of space. It was developed during the Renaissance by an artist named Alberti. Alberti is famous for writing that artists should make their paintings look “like a window on the world” meaning art should try to look as realistic as possible.

 During the Renaissance new subject matter was allowed for artwork. Because all the art did not have to be for the church, new types of artwork were made including portraits, paintings that depicted Greek mythology, and genre scenes (scenes of everyday life)

Renaissance Writers

Francesco Petrarch  Wrote poetry, mostly sonnets to imaginary ideal woman Laura. Considered to be the greatest love poems of all time.  Believed that classical writers were committed to virtue in public an private life.  Began studying their writing which became known as Classical Education  Became known as the Father of Humanism

Niccolo Machiavelli Pg. 356 Read primary source

Baldassare Castiglione  An Italian Diplomat  Published one of the most famous books of the Renaissance, “The Book of the Courtier”  In the book he used real people that engaged in fictional conservations to explain how polite people should act in society  Described the polite person as having a cool mind, a good voice, along with proper gestures. But also, had to have a warrior’s spirit, athletic abilities, and a knowledge of the humanities, classics, and the fine arts.

Describe this Renaissance work of art Consider: The technique of perspective The mixture of religious and humanist values What thoughts and feelings the work of art brings about. The Pieta by Michelangelo The Marriage of a Virgin by Raphael