1. 15th Century

2. Recovery from 1348 plague: labor shortage, wages increased; great new wealth
Capitalism; new class wealthy families based on capitalism, not hereditary
Patronage of arts
Florence is one of wealthiest cities
ART: both secular & religious; greater realism & symbolism

3. Renaissance = rebirth of classical Greece & Rome
Classical past viewed as source for new &
innovative ideas for the 15th and 16th centuries
Represents a synthesis

4. Florence

5. Center of European banking system
Florence coins used in European trade for centuries
Medici family controlled Florence ( )
Platonic Academy – principal means of exporting Greek learning to Europe
Florence “republican” government by wealthy in guilds

6. Renaissance Humanism
Political developments (republicanism)
Artists worked as individuals seeking personal fame (not just for glory of God)
Desire for Classical learning
Advancement of self & society through intellectual efforts

7. Emphasis on good life & not just medieval religion and strict ethical code
Convinced humanist learning would both perfect the individual & also promote effective social and religious reform.
Humans are the crucial link between God and the world God created

8. Humanist learning spread rapidly with invention of movable metal type printing by Gutenberg
Replaced copying by hand or by engraved wooden bloc – not practical for much text
Price of printed material plummeted
UT Austin has copy of Gutenberg Bible

10. Why Italy? Little medieval feudalism Long tradition of lay learning
City life never declined significantly

11. 1401 - Renaissance began with competition to decorate bronze doors of Florence Baptistery
Subject was Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac
Lorenzo Ghiberti won competition
His east doors used linear perspective (invented by Brunelleschi using mathematical formulae) to create illusion of 3D on a two dimension surface –most important development in history of Western art

14. Linear Perspective in Painting (Patrons kneeling) Masaccio – The Holy Trinity

15. Vanishing Point

16. Strong Emotions (Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden)

17. Architecture – Filippo Brunelleschi
Emphasized precise measurements & study of classical examples
Gothic architecture (flying buttresses, etc) never entered Italy
Cathedral of Florence was unfinished
Designed the massive dome, drawing upon Pantheon but revising for his needs

18. Combined buttressing of Gothic architecture & Classical vaulting techniques
Later, Michelangelo drew heavily from Brunelleschi with Saint Peter’s dome in Vatican: “I will create your sister; bigger but no more beautiful.”