The Italian Renaissance Vitruvian man, Leonardo da Vinci, ca. 1492

“This century,” wrote philosopher Marsilio Ficino, “like a golden age has restored to light the liberal arts, which were almost extinct: grammar, poetry, rhetoric, painting, sculpture, architecture, music.” What a glorious time to be alive, he thought. As Ficino recognized, a new age had dawned in Western Europe. Europeans called it the Renaissance, meaning “rebirth.” It began in the 1300s and reached its peak around 1500.

Began with a new interest in the cultures of ancient Rome and Greece I. The Italian Renaissance Began with a new interest in the cultures of ancient Rome and Greece

I. The Italian Renaissance It was a time of reawakening after the disorder and disunity of the Medieval World

Began in Italy - cities became centers of trade and manufacturing I. The Italian Renaissance Began in Italy - cities became centers of trade and manufacturing

I. The Italian Renaissance Florence came to symbolize energy and brilliance of Italian Renaissance

A wealthy merchant class promoted cultural rebirth I. The Italian Renaissance A wealthy merchant class promoted cultural rebirth

Emphasis was on education and individual achievement I. The Italian Renaissance Emphasis was on education and individual achievement

Wealthy patrons played a major role by sponsoring artists I. The Italian Renaissance Wealthy patrons played a major role by sponsoring artists

I. The Italian Renaissance The Medici Family of Florence were among the richest bankers and merchants in Europe Bottecilli's "The Adoration of the Magi" (1476) with the Medici family and friends

I. The Italian Renaissance Lorenzo Medici was a patron and supported poets, philosophers, and artists

II. What was the Renaissance? A time of creativity and change – political social economic cultural

II. What was the Renaissance? A change in the way people viewed themselves and their world Auguste Rodin - The Thinker

II. What was the Renaissance? Renaissance thinkers explored the human experience in the here and now

II. What was the Renaissance? It also supported a spirit of adventure

Focused on worldly subjects rather than only religious issues III. Humanism Focused on worldly subjects rather than only religious issues

III. Humanism Based on study of classical culture: grammar, rhetoric, poetry, and history

Believed education should stimulate the individual’s creative powers III. Humanism Believed education should stimulate the individual’s creative powers

Renaissance art reflected humanist concerns IV. The Arts Renaissance art reflected humanist concerns The Birth Of Venus by Sandro Botticelli (1485)

IV. The Arts Artists developed techniques, such as perspective, for painting in a realistic way

IV. The Arts Architects adopted columns, arches, and domes from the Greeks and Romans Roman Aqueducts The Pantheon in Rome

Three of the most celebrated artists were Leonardo da Vinci IV. The Arts Three of the most celebrated artists were Leonardo da Vinci Self-portrait Mona Lisa Sketch of a man

Michelangelo The Pieta David The Creation of Adam

Raphael Raphael’s School of Athens was famous for depicting figures of the Classical past with the features of his Renaissance contemporaries The Crucifixion

Renaissance writers included Castiglione and Machiavelli IV. The Arts Renaissance writers included Castiglione and Machiavelli Niccolò Machiavelli Castiglione