1. The Renaissance Begins
Chapter 27
The Renaissance Begins

2. Essential Question
What changes in Europe led to the Renaissance?

3. Learning Targets
Identify elements of classical, medieval, and Renaissance art.
Connect the importance of the growth of towns, the rise of a money economy, and the development of independent city-states to the birth and spread of Renaissance ideas.
Explore how humanism encouraged a new way of thinking that affected many aspects of European life during the Renaissance.

4. Section 27.1 - Introduction
Renaissance is a French word that means “rebirth.”
The Renaissance period in Europe was from about to 1600.
Considered to be an end to the darker Middle Ages.

5. Section 27.1 - Introduction
Remember…
The middle ages in Europe were based on feudalism.
The Roman Catholic Church encouraged people to think more about life after death than about daily life on Earth.
Few people were educated.

6. Section 27.1 - Introduction
In the late Middle Ages…
Trade and commerce increased
Wealthy merchants and bankers supported the growth of arts and learning
Renewed interest in the past sparked new creativity in architecture and new ways of thinking.

7. Section 27.2 – What Was the Renaissance?
Began in Italy in the 1300s and spread to other parts of Europe in the 1400s and 1500s.

8. Key Content Terms
Renaissance: a great flowering of culture, based on classical Greek and Roman ideas and art, that began in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and spread throughout Europe.
Classical Art: art influenced by the styles and techniques of ancient Greece and Rome.

9. Renewed Interest in the Classical World
After the fall of Rome in the 5th century, the classical works were kept mostly by monks and members of the clergy.
In the Late Middle Ages – merchants and Crusaders brought back some of these ideas from the East.
People became very interested in these works and were inspired to create some of the literature and art of the Renaissance.

10. Exploring the Rebirth of Classical Ideas Through Art
Classical Art
500 BCE – 500 CE
Artists created sculptures, pottery, murals and mosaics.
Purpose of the art was to show the importance of ordinary people and civic leaders, as well as gods and goddessess..

11. Exploring the Rebirth of Classical Ideas Through Art
Classical Art
Artists valued balance and harmony
Figures were lifelike – but more perfect than in real life.
Bodies looked active and motion was believable
Figures were nude or draped in togas
Faces were calm and no emotion
Scenes showed either heroic figures or real people doing daily life tasks
Little background or sense of perspective

13. Exploring the Rebirth of Classical Ideas Through Art
Medieval Art
500 to 1300 CE
Artists created stained glass windows, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, paintings and tapestries.
Purpose of art was to teach religion to people who could not read or write.

14. Exploring the Rebirth of Classical Ideas Through Art
Medieval Art
Most art was religious, showing Jesus, saints and people from the Bible.
Important figures in paintings were shown larger than others around them.
Figures looked stiff, with little sense of movement
Figures were fully dressed in stiff-looking clothing
Faces were serious and showed little expression
Painted figures looked two-dimension or flat
Paint colors were bright
Backgrounds were mostly one color, often blue or gold

16. Exploring the Rebirth of Classical Ideas Through Art
Renaissance Art
1300s to the early 1600s
Artists created sculptures, murals, drawings, and paintings
Purpose was to show the importance of people and nature, not just religious ideas

17. Exploring the Rebirth of Classical Ideas Through Art
Renaissance Art
artists showed religious and nonreligious scenes
Art reflected nature
Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional – reflected new knowledge of anatomy
Figures shown in action
Figures were either nude or clothed
Faces expressed what people were feeling
Colors were shown responding to light
Paintings were symmetrical, or balanced, with the right and left sides having identical elements
Full backgrounds showed perspective, adding depth.

19. Section 27.3 – The Growth of Trade and Commerce
Trade brought new ideas as well as good into Europe.
Prosperous cities and new classes of people were created and people now had the wealth to support art and learning.

20. Increased Contact Between East and West
11th Century – Crusades strengthened contacts between western Europe and Byzantine and Muslim cultures
13th Century – Mongol conquests made the Silk Road to China safer
Marco Polo explored trade routes from Italy to Europe, Africa and Asia

21. Increased Contact Between East and West
Venice and Genoa in Italy were central trade hubs linking western Europe with the east.
Trade ships carried goods to England, Scandinavia and Russia

22. A New Economy Middle Ages – barter system for goods
Renaissance – people used coins to buy merchandise
Coins came from all over and there money changers were developed to convert currency from one type to another.
Resulted in craftspeople, merchants and bankers became more important in society.
People who gained wealth through trade and commerce were able to make the cities more beautiful.

23. Section 27.4 – The Influence of Italian City States
Key Content Term
City State – an independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory.
Republic – a form of government in which citizens elect representatives to rule for them.

24. Section 27.4 – The Influence of Italian City States
In the Late Middle Ages – Italy had growing towns which developed into City-States.
Conducted their own trade
Collected their own taxes
Made their own laws
Power in the republic belonged to the people (or really – the rich merchants)

25. Section 27.4 – The Influence of Italian City States
Some city states became specialized
Florence – center for cloth and banking
Milan – metal goods and armor
Genoa – port for ivory trade and gold from Africa
Venice – had ships that controlled trade routes on the Mediterranean Sea

26. Section 27.4 – The Influence of Italian City States
These city states had a ton of wealth, and the rich families paid for statues, paintings, beautiful buildings and elegant avenues.
They built new centers of learning – universities and hospitals.

27. Section 27.5 – The Growth of Humanism
Key Content Terms:
Humanism – a philosophy that tries to balance religious faith with an emphasis on individual dignity and an interest in nature and human society.
Humanities – collectively, areas of study that focus on human life and culture, such as history, literature and ethics.

28. Section 27.5 – The Growth of Humanism
Key Content Terms
Individualism – the belief in the importance of an individual’s achievements and dignity.

29. Section 27.5 – The Growth of Humanism
Humanism first came about in Italy as a result of the renewed interest in classical culture.
One of the first Humanists was a man named Francesco Petrarch.
Loved old books
Created a large collection of ancient Latin and Greek texts that he made available to other scholars.

30. Section 27.5 – The Growth of Humanism
Scholars traveled to Italy to learn about the new humanist ideas sparked by classical culture.
They created a new way of looking at life
The importance of the dignity of each individual
Each person has the ability to control their own lives and achieve greatness (you were no longer stuck where you were born)
Separated the state and its right to rule from the Church

31. Section 27.5 – The Growth of Humanism
Humanist architects created buildings that had pillars, arches, and courtyards.
Scholars began to teach methods of observation and experimentation
Scientists proposed new ideas about the starts and planets

32. Section 27.5 – The Growth of Humanism
These new ideas put humanist’s into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church.
The Church still wanted people to believe that laws were made by God and that people who broke those laws were sinful. The Church wanted people to follow the rules and not question them.
Humanists wanted people to think for themselves and question everything.

33. Last Thoughts What was the Renaissance?
The Renaissance was a flowering of art and learning that was inspired by a rediscovery of the classical cultures of Greece and Rome. It began in Italy around 1300 and spread throughout Europe, lasting to the early 1600s.

34. Last Thoughts The Growth of Trade and Commerce
Italy’s location made it a perfect crossroads for trade between Europe and Asia, which began to increase at this time. This growth of trade and commerce created prosperous cities and classes of people with enough wealth to support education and the arts.

35. Last Thoughts The Influence of Italian City States
The developing wealth and power of the individual Italian city-states helped to promote and spread Renaissance ideas. Civic leaders and wealthy private individuals paid for new works of art and built new centers of learning.

36. Last Thoughts The Growth of Humanism
The new philosophy of humanism spurred interest in learning and fresh ways of thinking. Humanist, such as Francesco Petrarch, sought to balance religious faith with an emphasis on individualism, the workings of the natural world, and human society. The sought to separate the workings of government from the Church.