Florence: Cradle of the Renaissance

29.2 The City of Florence Florence Italy was the leading cultural city during the Renaissance. It was home to many famous artists, thinkers, poets, and other notable people. Its location made it a center for trade. Hub for woolen-cloth trading in all of Europe. By the 14th century, it to become Europe’s banking center

Florence grew wealthy as a center for the wool trade and as a banking center

The Medici Family The Medici family dominated Florence. Their wealth grew from banking. Like other rich members in Florence, the Medicis became patrons to artists and thinkers. They spent large sums on art Financed the completion of the Duomo Artists, poets, & philosophers gathered at their home. Michelangelo once lived at the Medici household

The Medici family dominated Florence. They became patrons to many Renaissance painters and thinkers.

Florence, a center of learning Florentine works of art, innovations, & ideas, influenced others. People learned from one another They sometimes competed to produce even greater works. Florentines were also influenced by ideas from other places. Why did Florence attract so many visitors? Trade/commerce Study art with Florentine masters Learn at the libraries and schools Many brought new ideas The visitors brought new ideas, goods, and technologies making the city a vibrant place. Florentines were influenced by the freedom of ideas, the core of Humanism.

29.3 Advances in Architecture and Engineering Classical architecture influenced Renaissance builders. Studied Greek & Roman ruins Used rounded arches, straight columns, domed roofs. Architects came up with new ideas Wealthy families built private palazzi (palaces). The palazzi had shops on the 1st floor and homes above. Many had courtyards for art.

Advances in Engineering Humanists valued good citizenship & architects built public buildings. Grand yet welcoming Built roofed porches called loggia that joined buildings and creating outdoor plazas. Advances in Engineering The Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore was the greatest engineering feats of the Renaissance. Filippo Brunelleschi solved the problem of finishing the incomplete cathedral Studied Roman designs Learned the math needed to complete the dome The dome has no internal support 8 large arches come together to make the dome Invented hoists to lift building material & workers to the top

Ponte Vecchio and skyline The Duomo. Florence’s Cathedral

29.4 Advances in Painting

Patrons offered opportunities Talented artists were able to make advances in style and technique Painters were able to take a renewed interest in classical culture and spread of humanism

Palazzo Medici

What the painters wanted to express through art Depict (show) real people posed in lifelike ways Show feelings (emotion) Realistic backgrounds This style was very different from middle-aged art: flat and rigid (2 dimensional)

How were they able to depict this new style? Discovery of perspective Painters used perspective to show depth on a flat surface The smaller a painted object, the further away it appeared The larger an object, the closer it appeared Lines come closer together as they receded into the distance Shading could make figures three-dimensional (3-D)

The Last Supper by Da Vinci

shading

How did science and math contribute to advancement in painting? Masaccio-used geometry to learn how to give proper spacing to seem more realistic Leonardo da Vinci-studied anatomy to see how bodies moved in order to portray (show) them more vividly (realistic) Invention of oil-based paints: a combination of powdered pigment with linseed oil. This allowed artists to paint over work in order to show texture and details

Geometry & Anatomy

29.5 Advances in Sculpture

Sculptors Inspired by Roman statues Began carving figures that looked real & showed emotion Statues: freestanding and viewed in round Medieval statues: relief statues (attached against a wall…) and subjects were clothed Symbolized humanist ideals of independence (free) and individuality (unique)

Donatello: a Florentine One of the first sculptors to show more life-like style Statue of David Shows story of David defeating Goliath His work expressed his mood and personality

Michelangelo: painter, sculptor, poet & artist Inspired by Donatello to create his own David David stood 17 feet tall David is ideal of male beauty; yet reflected humanist ideas David’s expression shows concentration and tension of man entering battle David installed in Piazza della Signoria Michelangelo’s favorite art media was sculpting because he liked to bring his subject to life

Michelangelo’s David

29.6 Advances in Literature

Time for change The topics changed The style of writing changed The language changed

Out with the old, in with the new Medieval times Literature dealt with religious topic Writers used formal impersonal style Italian writers wrote in Latin Result: works could only be read by highly educated people Renaissance Times Interested in individual experience to express feeling and thoughts about life Wrote about secular (non-religious) topics Writing in own dialect (not Latin) Result: more people were able to read

The Divine Comedy Written by Dante Alighieri (Florentine Native) Written in early 1300s Used his native language Long poem that took an imaginary journey to Christian afterlife. In poem, Dante describes: Inferno (hell): Roman poet Virgil shows Dante a place for tormented souls Purgatory: Virgil also shows Dante a waiting place for heaven and hell; souls await entry into heaven Paradise (heaven): beautiful woman, Beatrice, shows him

How can this literature piece be linked to humanist art? Highlights strong emotion Highlights the experiences of individuals Filled with social commentary (people are talking-dialogue) Real people

Who did Dante influence? Influenced Petrarch and Boccaccio They described people’s lives with new intensity and feeling Used local dialect; Remember Petrarch? Father of Humanism

29.7 Advances in Science & Math Humanists were not satisfied with just following Greek & Roman ideas about math & science They questioned, made observations, and preformed experiments. They used math and logic to analyze their ideas.

Leonardo Di Vinci One of the most creative thinkers. He was an artist, scientist, and inventor Study under Florentine masters. Lived and worked there. He never accepted something true until he proved it himself Wrote about geometry, engineering, sound, motion, & architecture. Studied anatomy and described blood circulation and how the eye works. Understood tides were effected by the Moon 1st to draw maps from a birds eye view (above the ground)

Andreas Vesalius wrote a groundbreaking book on anatomy Michelangelo’s Drawings of muscles

Andreas Vesalius’ sketch of internal organs

The Academy of Baccio Bandinelli, 1550 Enea Vico (Italian, 1523–1567)

Sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo’s inventions Designed bridges, weapons, machines, and even a diving suit! Other Italian scientists and mathematicians Girolamo Cardano: solved complex algebra problems, and pioneered work in probability (science of chance) Galileo Galilei: experimented with gravity. Proved that all objects fall at the same rate. He also built the 1st telescope that could look into space. Discovered sunspots, & the moons of Jupiter

As the story goes, Galileo dropped two objects with different weights and observed that they fall at the same rate. Galileo’s telescope

29.8 Florentine Politics Florence ruled by governing boards from the Palazzo Veccio Boards were controlled by rich families Powerful Medici family control Florence for 3 centuries

Medici Family They kept their power in many ways Built palaces Kept a strong military Involved in all aspects of city life Supported artists, writers and musicians They defeated enemies who threatened the family

Lorenzo the Magnificent Lorenzo was one of the most powerful members of Medici Family Leading patron of art & scholarship Ruled Florence for more than 20 years from 1469 until his death in 1492 A revolution forces the Medicis into temporary exile 1512 the family regains power

Niccolo Machiavelli Florentine statesman Florentine historian He observed how there were struggles for power During the Medici exile he reorganized the city’s defenses He was a diplomat and he observed other Italian rulers He wrote a book about all of this called The Prince.

The Prince An account about how politics/government worked Advised rulers to do what worked best not what was right or good Rulers should lie if it helped them to rule Believed rulers should be feared not loved His book and beliefs contradict humanist ideals In other ways his book shows the influence of humanism It separated the ideas of government from religion (e.g. separation of church and state)

29.9 Florentine Commerce & Trade Florence was the center of wealth and trade It was a cultural center The economy of Florence was unusually flexible

$$Show me the Money$$ Flexible economy Money makers Woolen-cloth making People worked in many types of businesses A cloth factory owner might also be a banker or realtor A grain dealer might also be a lawyer People often belonged to several guilds at once

Florence Banking Florence had a thriving banking industry Shift to money economy Over time Florence becomes banking hub Medicis become one of Italy’s wealthiest families because of this Started out as merchants and money lenders Florence becomes richer than most of Europe’s largest kingdoms Had 80 banks

Let’s go shopping! Florence Markets Mercato Veccio (old) Everyday items Vegetables, fruits, bread, fish, meat, medicine and shoes Crowded, noisy and smelly People from all over Europe came Mercato Nuovo (new) Built in mid 1500s Center of cloth and banking Food and weapons were banned Wanted it to be clean and orderly Largest financial market in Europe Mercato Nuovo