1. Lesson 1 The Italian Renaissance

2. The Renaissance and Reformation (1300–1650)
Lesson 1 The Italian Renaissance
Learning Objectives
Describe the characteristics of the Renaissance and understand why it began in Italy.
Identify Renaissance artists and explain how new ideas affected the arts of the period.
Understand how writers of the time addressed Renaissance themes.
Explain the impact of the Renaissance.

3. The Renaissance and Reformation (1300–1650)
Lesson 1 The Italian Renaissance
Key Terms
humanism
humanities
vernacular
Florence
patron
Perspective
These should already be completed, if not be sure to do it when we have free time.

4. The Italian Renaissance
From the 1300s to the 1500s, Western Europe enjoyed a golden age in the arts and literature, known as the Renaissance. The word literally means “rebirth.” The Renaissance was a time of great creativity and change in many areas—economic, political, social, and above all, cultural.

5. A Spirit of Adventure and Curiosity Renaissance Humanism
Elements of the Italian Renaissance
A New Worldview
A Spirit of Adventure and Curiosity
Renaissance Humanism

6. The Italian Renaissance
Analyze Charts Read the chart comparing medieval and Renaissance Europe. How were the achievements of individuals judged in the different eras?

7. The Renaissance Begins in Italy
The Renaissance emerged in Italy for several reasons. The Renaissance began in Italy in the mid-1300s and later spread north to the rest of Europe. It reached its height in the 1500s.

8. Italy’s History and Geography 
Since Italy was the center of ancient Roman civilization, it was only natural for this to begin there. Building remains, antique statues, coins, and inscriptions were all daily reminders of the glory of ancient Rome. Italy differed from the rest of Europe in another important way. Italy’s cities had thrived during the Middle Ages.

9. The Italian Renaissance
The growth of urban areas helped encourage a renewal of culture known as the Renaissance. This 19th century reconstruction of a 15th century painting shows Florence, Italy, in 1490.

10. The Renaissance Begins in Italy
Analyze Maps The states and kingdoms of Italy lay at the center of Europe’s sea trade. Why were so many banking centers located in Italy?

11. The Renaissance Begins in Italy
Analyze Information This painting from the 1400s depicts a typical scene in an Italian banking house. How is the wealth of the banker shown in this image?

12. Florence
Symbolized the Italian Renaissance. Like Athens, it produced a dazzling number of gifted poets, artists, architects, scholars, and scientists in a short space of time.

13. Medici Family
In the 1400s, the Medici family of Florence organized a banking business. Their business prospered and the family expanded into manufacturing, mining, and other ventures. Money translated into cultural and political power.

14. The Renaissance Begins in Italy
Analyze Charts Review the chart about the Medici family in Renaissance Italy. During Lorenzo’s rule of Florence, in which years did he probably have more money to spend on the arts?

15. Art Flourishes in the Renaissance
The Renaissance attained its greatest expression in its paintings, sculpture, and architecture. Wealthy patrons played a major role in this artistic flowering. Popes and princes, along with successful merchants, supported the work of hundreds of artists.

16. Art Reflects New Ideas and Attitudes New Techniques and Styles
Art Flourishes in the Renaissance
Art Reflects New Ideas and Attitudes
New Techniques and Styles
perspective

17. Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was an Italian artist considered the ideal Renaissance man due to his varied talents. His interests included botany, anatomy, optics, music, architecture, and engineering.

18. The Last Supper

19. Michelangelo
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) was an Italian painter also known for his sculpture, engineering, architecture, and poems.

20. David

21. Sistine Chapel

22. Sistine Chapel cont.

23. Raphael
Raphael (1483–1520) was a Renaissance painter who blended Christian and classical styles.

24. Madonna of the Meadow

26. Renaissance Architecture

27. Filippo Brunelleschi
an architect and engineer, and one of the pioneers of early Renaissance architecture in Italy. He was the first modern engineer and a problem solver, building his major work, the Duomo in Florence, with the aid of machines that he invented for the project.

28. Renaissance Literature
Poets, artists, and scholars mingled with politicians at the courts of Renaissance rulers. A literature of “how to” books sprang up to help ambitious men and women who wanted to rise in the Renaissance world.

29. Baldassare Castiglione
Castiglione’s Ideal Courtier The most widely read of these handbooks was The Book of the Courtier: describes the manners, skills, learning, and virtues that a member of the court should have.

30. Castiglione cont.
The ideal differed for men and women. The ideal man, wrote Castiglione, is athletic but not overactive. He is good at games but not a gambler. He plays a musical instrument and knows literature and history but is not arrogant. The ideal woman offers a balance to men. She is graceful and kind, lively but reserved. She is beautiful, “for outer beauty,” wrote Castiglione, “is the true sign of inner goodness.”

31. Castiglione cont.

32. Niccolo Machiavelli
Machiavelli’s was a different kind of handbook. He had served Florence as a diplomat and had observed kings and princes in foreign courts. He had also studied ancient Roman history. In The Prince, published in 1513, Machiavelli offered a guide to rulers on how to gain and maintain power. It combined his personal experience of politics with his knowledge of the past.

33. Macchiavelli cont.
The Prince did not discuss leadership in terms of high ideals, as Plato had. Instead, it looked at real rulers in an age of ruthless power politics. Machiavelli stressed that the end justifies the means. He urged rulers to use whatever methods were necessary to achieve their goals.

34. Machiavelli cont.

35. Quiz: The Italian Renaissance
How did Renaissance humanists differ from medieval thinkers?
A. They focused solely on religious subjects and emphasized individual achievements.
B. They rejected the classical works from Greece and Rome, focusing their work on Biblical studies.
C. They were interested in inquiry and exploration, as well as the idea that humans could perfect themselves.
D. They looked to the classical works from Greece and Rome, focusing on a narrow, specialized area of study.

36. Quiz: The Renaissance Begins in Italy
What was one economic effect of the Renaissance?
A. Increased trade led to thriving Italian banks.
B. The Roman Catholic Church gave money to artists.
C. Wealthy Italian merchants invested in improving Muslim port cities.
D. Wealthy families like the Medicis purchased ancient treasures of Athens.

37. Quiz: Art Flourishes in the Renaissance
What style influenced the work of the architect Filippo Brunelleschi?
A. A Gothic style that created orderly buildings.
B. Classical forms from ancient Greece and Rome.
C. Medieval designs that emphasized religious themes.
D. A blend of Gothic and Medieval styles that created uniform buildings.

38. Quiz: New Books Reflect Renaissance Themes
What was a political impact of Machiavelli’s book, The Prince?
A. It gave courtiers political and social ideals to follow.
B. It made people reconsider views of government and political power.
C. It encouraged citizens in Italy to oppose corruption and oppression.
D. It led to the formation of a new government in Italy.