1. Ch. 16: The Scientific Revolution
16th-17th century Society and Culture
Mannerism and Baroque Art, Music, Literature

2. Origins of the Scientific Revolution
Medieval view:
Religious
Divine right of kings
Society governed by Church practices and superstition
World views influenced by Aristotle
Geocentric theory

3. Causes: Medieval universities Renaissance and Humanist movement
Age of exploration created need for scientific advances
Scientific method
Scientific Method becomes major cause of new world view of 17th-18th centuries
secularism

4. Astronomy: 16th century Copernicus (1473-1543) Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres (1543)
Heliocentric view:
Condemned by Luther, Calvin, and the Catholic Church
In 1616 Church declared his theory heretical
Built the best observatory in Europe and collected massive data on his observations of the cosmos
Data later proved Copernicus’ theory

5. Johannes Kepler ( )
First great Protestant scientist, worked as assistant to Brahe
Mathematically proved Copernican theory
Developed three laws of planetary motion:
Orbits are elliptical
Planets do not move at uniform speed
Time it takes to orbit directly based on its distance from the sun
Ptolemaic View
Copernican view

6. Astronomy: 17th century Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo shows the Doge of Venice how to use the telescope (fresco)
Galileo Galilei ( )
Developed the laws of motion
Used controlled experiments
Acceleration experiment:
Law of inertia:
Validated Copernicus’ heliocentric view with a telescope
First to use one as scientific instrument
Discovered the 4 moons of Jupiter
Galileo facing the Roman Inquisition, 1857
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, 1632
Condemned by Church and forced to recant in 1633

7. Principia (1687) Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Incorporated astronomy of Copernicus and Kepler with physics of Galileo to overarching theory explaining order and design to the universe
Principle of universal gravitation
Natural laws of motion are evident in the movement of heavenly bodies and earthly objects
Mathematics to explain motion (invented calculus)
Every body in the universe attracts every other body in a precise mathematical relationship
Natural laws are unchangeable and predictable, thus God is not needed to explain forces of nature
Foundation of deism

8. The Scientific Method Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Rene Descartes ( )
Formalized empiricism
Inductive method for scientific experimentation
Deductive reasoning
“I think; therefore, I am.”

9. Anatomy, physiology, and biology
Scientists began challenging traditional Greco-Roman medical theories of health and disease
Galen: believed proper balance of the four humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) were basis for human health
Blood-letting common to balance humors

10. Anatomy, physiology, and biology
Paracelsus ( )
Vesalius ( )
Believed medical issues were chemical imbalances rather than humoral imbalances
The Structure of the Human Body (1543)
renewed and modernized study of human anatomy

11. Royal scientific societies
Governments/monarchs encouraged scientific inquiry as a means to further the prestige of the state and remain at the cutting edge of technology
Scientific societies created a means by which scientists could communicate internationally
The Royal Society in England was the most prestigious (1660)
Others in Naples, France (Louis XIV), Prussia (Frederick I), and Russia (Peter the Great)

12. Impact on Society Led to the Enlightenment Improved exploration
Accelerated the agricultural revolution
Improved quality of life
Discredited superstition and witchcraft as fallacies
Science and religion not in direct conflict until 19th-20th centuries
Few attempts to secularize science

13. Witch Hunts 70,000-100,000 people killed between 1400-1700
Causes
End of Witch Hunts
Popular belief in magic
Catholic Church used witch hunts to gain control over village life in rural areas
Women seen as “weaker vessels” and prone to temptation (80% of victims)
Religious wars and divisions created panic and scapegoat environment
The Scientific Revolution discredited superstition and witch hunts
Advances in medicine
Protestant Reformation emphasized God as only spiritual force in the universe
literature

14. Mannerism El Greco (1541-1614) Characteristics:
Burial of Count Orgaz,
Reaction against Renaissance ideals of balance, symmetry, simplicity, and realistic use of color
Rebellion against “perfection” of High Renaissance
Used unnatural color, shapes irregular
Bridge between High Renaissance & Baroque

15. Tintoretto
Last Supper, 1594
Arcimboldo
"Vertemnus” ca 1590

16. Mannerist Literature Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)
Miguel de Cervantes ( )
French humanist philosopher; developed modern skepticism
Question, don’t accept
“what do I know?” (nothing)
Spanish writer during Age of Decline
Don Quixote (1605)
Nobility’s ill attempts at chivalry, similar to fall of Spain

17. Shakespeare (1564-1616) Greatest writer in English history
Theater, comedies, tragedies, histories
Average people could understand
Wrote in vernacular

18. Baroque Art
Began in Catholic Reformation countries to teach in a concrete and emotional way and demonstrate the glory and power of the Catholic Church
Spread to Protestant countries

19. Baroque Art, 17th Century
Italian Baroque artists embraced a more dynamic and complex aesthetic.
…dramatic theatricality, grandiose scale, and elaborate ornateness…characterized… the art and architecture.
Baroque art production further suggests the role art played in supporting the aims of the [Catholic] Church.
Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes, , Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
-Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, 11th Ed.
Bernini, David, 1623, Galleria Borghese, Rome.
Bernini, baldacchino, , St. Peter’s, Vatican City.
Bernini, Trevi Fountain, , Rome.

20. Baroque Sculpture and Architecture Italy:
Gian Lorenzo Bernini ( )
Piazza Navona: Fountain of the Four Rivers
A Counter Reformation Catholic
Inspired by Caravaggio
Sculptor
Greatest imprint on city of Rome than any other artist

21. Bernini
Saint Peter’s Square
Baldacchino

22. Bernini
Trevi Fountain
David

23. Saint Teresa in Ecstasy, 1647-52

24. Italian Baroque Painting
Caravaggio ( )
Baroque art reaches out to people and provokes action; designed to give spontaneous personal experience.
Baroque paintings are filled with dramatic movement, striking contrasts of light and dark, vivid colors, and earthly realism.
Baroque artists depicted the heroic acts of martyrs and saints to inspire the lower classes to accept their own suffering and not lose faith.
First important painter of Baroque period
Highly emotional scenes
Use of tenebrism
Considered a realist in an age of idealists
Criticized for use of ordinary, gritty people as models even for religious paintings

25. Caravaggio
Bacchus
David with the Head of Goliath

26. Caravaggio
Basket of Fruit
Crucifixion of Saint Peter

27. Northern European Baroque Art
Peter Paul Rubens ( )
Rubenshuis, Antwerp
northern Europe, the Netherlands was divided into two parts: the Northern Netherlands (present day Netherlands) and Southern Netherlands (present day Belgium and part of France), each usually referred to as Holland (North) and Flanders (South).
Rubens and his workshop dominated the art of Flanders with the creation of dramatic and powerful religious altarpieces and portraits of the ruling families of Italy and France.
Emphasized color and sensuality (nudes as Roman goddesses, nymphs, saints, and angels); melodramatic contrasts; monumental size
Mainly Christian subjects

28. Rubens
The Fall of Man,
The Three Graces, 1635

29. Rembrandt ( )
Dutch artist during Dutch Golden Age: Dutch Classicism
Self Portrait, 1658
Painted in Amsterdam – tolerant city, valued personal privacy, thus unknown if he was Catholic or Protestant
Personal tragedies: wife died, 3 of 4 children died, bankrupt
Known for self-portraits (more than 90), very prolific
Narrow color range: browns, reds, beige. Pinpoint style with light to illuminate a point
Painterly style: layers of paint

30. Rembrandt: The Night Watch 1642

31. Rembrandt Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp 1632
Return of the Prodigal Son, 1669

32. Baroque Art: Spain Diego Velasquez, 1599-1660 Las Meninas, 1656
Court painter for King Philip IV
Favorite
Moved into palace
Spanish Golden Age
Important portrait artist
Loose brush technique

33. Velasquez
Philip IV 1632
Los Borrachos 1628

34. George Frederic Handel (1685-1759)
General Background on the Baroque Era: The Baroque Era (c ) was the last great age of European aristocratic monarchies. During this period, much of the world was colonized on behalf of Europe's crowned heads, and Protestantism successfully rivaled Catholicism. Notable scientists were Newton, Bacon and Kepler. Important writers and artists were Descartes, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, El Greco, Milton, Pope, Racine and Moliere.
Characteristics
Emphasis on text in the music; the lyrics and libretto were most important Baroque composers developed the modern system of major-minor tonalities. Dissonance was used much more freely than during the Renaissance Like Bach, he wrote in a variety of genres. His masterpiece is the oratorio The Messiah.
George Frederic Handel ( )

35. Claudio Monteverdi (1547-1643)
J. S. Bach ( )
developed the opera and the modern orchestra
L’Orfeo (1607) is his masterpiece
Greatest of the Baroque composers wrote dense and polyphonic structures hired by several princes and churches throughout his career to compose religious music

36. Essay Questions
How did the Scientific Revolution impact European society intellectually, politically, religiously, and economically?