1. World Studies September 22
The Renaissance
World Studies
September 22

2. I. Attitudes before the Renaissance
It was not common to recognize individual accomplishments
Artists/writers often did not put their names on their work
Nobles inherited wealth and power, could not be earned
Under the feudal system, most people worked for someone else’s benefit
No motivation to work harder or develop talents

3. II. The Renaissance began in Italy
Began around 1300
Did not happen overnight; took 250 years to spread across all of Europe
Italy had 2 characteristics that led to this beginning
Urban centers: Northern Italy had 3 cities with populations of over 100,000
Florence, Genoa and Venice

5. Power of the merchants
Neither kings nor the Church had very much control in Italy
Merchants had their wealth (and power) because of their individual accomplishments
Used art as a status symbol
Acted as patrons – gave financial support to artists
Italy had both the population and desire to leave the “Dark Ages”

6. III. The Renaissance was a rebirth
Scholars studied Greek and Roman art
Felt like all of the work from the Middle Ages was barbaric
The Greco-Roman attitudes and fashions were “reborn”

7. IV. Enjoyment of Worldly Pleasures
During the Middle Ages people focused on living simple lives
Believed they would be rewarded in the afterlife
The new wealthy wanted to enjoy this life
Wore fancy clothes, ate fancy food, decorated their homes
Most were still religious

8. V. Interest in the Individual
Renaissance thinkers explored the richness and variety of human experience
- Humanism focused on world subjects rather than on religious issues
Encouraged education and exploration
Writers began to write in a vernacular or everyday language of the people

9. VI. Renaissance Ideals
Castiglione wrote The Courtier explaining how men and women should act
Men should be:
Educated in the Greco-Roman classics
Polite and clever
Able to dance and play music
Strong and skilled in athletics
A “Renaissance Man”

10. Women should be:
Educated in the Greco-Roman classics
A charming conversationalist
Able to dance and sing
Muses: they should inspire men to create great things
For the first time people had portraits painted
Felt their individual lives were worth recording

11. VII. The Renaissance Spread
Kings invited Italian artists to their courts
Foreign artists visited Italy to study
By 1550 all of Europe had been exposed