Download The Renaissance - WVW World History

The Renaissance
1300s-1600s
The transition from
medieval times to the early
modern world
What was the Renaissance?
• A time of creativity and great changes in
many areas, including:
– Political change
– Social change
– Economic change
– Cultural change
Italian Trade Routes
Ancient Greece and Rome
• Renaissance thinkers reawakened an interest
in classical learning –Ancient Greece and Rome
They looked to the past to make their lives better and
more culturally advanced
• Latin was the language of the Roman Catholic
Church and scholarly works
Who read and understood Latin?
The Renaissance Person
• Explored the richness and variety of the
human experience
• Was a multi-talented individual
• Supported a spirit of adventure
What do you think the Roman Catholic Church thinks of
this new outlook on life?
Humanism
The intellectual movement at the heart of the
Renaissance
Humanists studied classical culture from ancient
Greece and Rome
Humanists focused on worldly subjects
Education
• Humanists believed education would
stimulate the individual’s creative power
• Humanities- grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history
Notable Renaissance Humanist
• Francesco Petrarch- early Renaissance
Humanists, assembled a library of manuscripts
• He would study and compare copies of
manuscripts
How were manuscripts copied?
Francesco Petrarch
Why Italy?
• Renaissance thinkers had an interest in
ancient Rome
• Italy’s location supported trade
• Trade made Italian merchants wealthy
• These wealthy merchants became patrons
of their cities
Roman Catholic Church
The center of the Roman Catholic Church is the Vatican.
The Vatican is located within Rome. The church
supported artists and scholars.
Map of Italy
Major Italian Cities
Milan: one of the richest cities in Europe,
it controls trade through the Alps.
Venice: Sitting on the Adriatic Sea, it
Attracts trade from all over the world.
Milan
Genoa
Venice
Florence
Florence: controlled by the deMedici family,
Who became great patrons of the arts.
Genoa: had access to trade routes
Located in the Mediterranean Sea
All of these cities:
• 1. Had access to trade routes connecting
Europe with Middle Eastern markets
• 2. Served as trading centers for the
distribution of goods to northern Europe
• 3. Became wealthy because of trade
Italian city-states
• Each city-state was controlled be a powerful
family
• Each city state was dominated by a wealthy
and powerful merchant class
• Wealthy merchants were political and
economic leaders
• Wealthy merchants emphasized the
importance of art and personal achievement
Medici family
• Ruled Florence
• Among the richest merchants and bankers
in Europe
• Cosimo deMedici- gained control of
Florence in 1434
Lorenzo the Magnificent
•
•
•
•
Cosimo’s grandson
Clever politician
Kept Florence flourishing
Patron (financial supporter)
of the arts
• Invited poets and artists to the Medici
palace
Florence
• Medici family wealth transformed Florence
• Symbolized the energy and brilliance of the
Renaissance
• Produced a number of poets, artists,
architects, scholars, and scientists
Renaissance Artists
• wanted their subjects to be realistic, created
realistic art
• Focused on humanity and emotion
• Used new techniques: shading and new oil
paints
• Sculptured emphasized realism and the
human form
• Architecture reached new heights of design
New Techniques
Frescos
• Painting done on wet
plaster
• Gave depth to paintings
Perspective
• Making distant objects
appear smaller than those
close to the viewer
• Made scenes appear 3-D
Leon Alberti
• Described architecture as a social art- meant
to blend beauty with utility and function.
A Dome- The Courthouse
Filippo Brunelleschi
• Created a dome in Florence- il duomo
• Modeled after the Pantheon
Il duomo
Pantheon
Leonardo daVinci
• Renaissance genius
• Considered himself a painter, but he was also
a sculptor, architect, and engineer
• Sketched nature, humans, and animals
• Dissected corpses to learn how the human
body works
A sample
of daVinci’s
anatomy
sketches
daVinci’s famous paintings
Mona Lisa- portrait of a woman whose
mysterious smile has baffled
people for centuries
Is daVinci Mona Lisa?
The Last Supper
A masterpiece of perspective
daVinci’s inventions
Inventor, botany, anatomy, optics, music, architecture, engineering.
Michelangelo Buonarroti
• Sculptor, engineer, painter, architect, poet
• Called a “meloncholy genius”- his work
reflects his many life long spiritual struggles
The David
famous statue
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u8LDXhF
zPo
The Pieta
Mary and Jesus
The Sistine Chapel
• Took four years to complete
• Commissioned by Pope Julius II
• http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistin
a_vr/index.html
Raphael
• Admired for his talent and his sweet and gracious
nature
• Studied great masters, but developed his own
style
• Famous work: School of Athens
• Imaginary gathering of great thinkers and
scientists (Plato, Aristotle, Socrates to name a
few)
• He included himself in the picture along with
Michelangelo and daVinci
The School of Athens
Raphael in the back
Baldassare Castiglione
• Wrote The Book of the Courtier
• Describes the manners, skills, learning, and
virtues that a member of the court should
possess.
• Ideal courtier- well educated, well mannered
aristocrat who mastered many fields(poetry,
music, sports, etc..)
Castiglione's Ideal Person
Men
1. Athletic
2. Good at games
3. Plays musical
instruments
4. Knows literature
and history
Women
1. Pretty
“outer beauty is the
true sign of inner
goodness”
Niccolò Machiavelli
• Wrote “The Prince” a guide for rulers on how
to gain and maintain power
• Did not discuss ideals, but looked at real rulers
in an age of ruthless power politics
• Stressed “the end justifies the means”
• Urged rulers to use whatever methods were
necessary to achieve their goals
Machiavelli continued…
• Machiavelli saw himself as an enemy of oppression
and corruption
• Critics attacked his advice, said it was too cynical
• Machiavellian- came to refer to the use of deceit in
politics
• Raises ethical questions about government and
power
• Can you give an example of a modern leader who
follows Machiavelli’s advice.