Download The Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance
The objectives for this powerpoint
are:
• Identify the change in human outlook that occurred
during the time of the Renaissance
• What were some of the civic monuments that were
built to show this change?
• Who created some of the masterpieces of the Italian
Renaissance—and what were the new techniques that
enhanced their art.
• You will be able to identify Dante, Petrarch and
Machiavelli’s ideas and importance in literature and
political thought.
The Renaissance
marked a new age
in thought and
feeling
The focus on
heaven and the
afterlife changed
to the here and
now.
What was the Renaissance




It was the awakening of the human spirit
emphasizing feelings and thoughts
It involved high culture and therefore
only affected a few
It was not religious or scientific but moral
and personal
In Italy an almost secular attitude
appeared
Origins of the Renaissance
- Economic growth was the basis for the Renaissance
- Northern Italy was centrally located and benefited
from the crusades and the spice trade
- The Renaissance started in Florence and follows the
success of the Medici family
- Florentine merchants (the Medicis) gained control of
the papal banking
- 1397 Giovanni de’Medici founded the Medici Bank
- The Black Death and great Schism led to people
looking to other sources for Truth
Giovanni De'Medici
The City States







The city-states in Northern Italy began as Republics
Five city-states dominated Italy: Venice, Florence, Milan, The
Papal States, and the Kingdom of Naples
All of the Republics were overthrown and despots or oligarchies
took over
People were very loyal to their city states
In order to maintain power and show prestige the despots would
patronize the arts in order to make their city look beautiful and
gain prestige
Whereas Northern Europe was uniting, Italy was fragmenting
Signing and breaking alliances was very common, as was the use
of outside mercenary troops
Many civic (city) projects were built
•
•
•
•
•
•
Orphanages
Hospitals
Town halls
Schools
Squares
Bridges
Renaissance City States
• Florence Italy
Venice
Genoa
Different Governments
• Some were republics
• Others were Merchant Oligarchies
• Others were controlled by despots
(absolute power)
• Some were controlled by military
leaders (condottiere)
• The states were small—there was
constant friction among them.
Machiavelli (1469-1527)
Some writers wrote about politics
Machiavelli was concerned that
Italy was not united. He wrote The
Prince as a guide for rulers.
We should now be familiar with his
beliefs
• The end justifies the means
• It is better to be feared than loved
• It is better to kill a person than take away
his property.
• Human nature can be predicted; most
humans are selfish
• Politics is not about morals or religion—it
is about keeping a realm strong and
peaceful.
Machiavelli admired the New
Monarchs in other countries
• He was depressed that Italy was disunited
and fighting.
• He looked with envy on those monarchs
who were busy united their realms,
including England’s Henry VII, France’s
Louis XI, and Ferdinand and Isabella.
• Italy would not unite until the 1860’s—
almost four hundred years after his birth in
1469.
Condottiere,
Renaissance WarLords.
Condottiere,
Renaissance WarLords.
The Medici were the most famous Merchant
family. Their home was Florence.
Are you a Renaissance Man?
• Are you excellent in
all things?
• Do you define the
age?
• Are you musical,
literary, a fine
swordsman
• Can you appreciate
the opposite sex?
Are you a Renaissance Woman?
• Are you submissive
to your husband?
• Can you bear
many sons?
• Can you run the
domain while your
husband is away?
• Can you live past
40?
The Renaissance influence the arts
• Oil painting, canvas, perspective were all
new inventions
Perspective
Massacio’s Tribute Money
The High
Renaissance—
1450-1527
• Da Vinci,
Raphael,
Michelangelo
Popes were patrons of the High
Renaissance
• They used art and architecture to reestablish their power after the Great
Schism
The Italian Renaissance
ends.
Various groups invade
Rome and pillage and
sack the city in 1527.
The literary (writing) movement of
the Renaissance was called
Humanism.
More works were being written in
the Vernacular (language of the
people)
Humanism
- The study of
the classics
became known
Scholars sought out the classical
texts long forgotten
• The area of law was the first
area
• Scholars examined old texts
for the knowledge they
contained
• This thirst for authentic
sources exploded in the
Renaissance
• Soon, the printing press would
bring this knowledge to the
rest of the Western World
Italian Humanists
i) Deeply religious viewed the classics in a new, more
religious light
ii) They were skeptical of the authority of the classics
because they were written before Christ but..
iii) They studied classics to understand human nature
iv) Very Christian - men and women were in God’s image
v) Rejected classical ideas that opposed Christianity but
sought a harmony between paganism, secularism, and
Christianity.
vi) Loved the language of the classics
Petrarch (1304-1374) had a wide
influence throughout the Renaissance
• He loved to write letters and
poems
• Revived interest in classics
by discovering a set of
Cicero's writings
• He encouraged reading of
the Classics to better
understand humanity, and
believed Europe was living
in a more enlightened age
Secularism and Valla
- To be secular is to be concerned with the
material world not the eternal world
- Lorenzo Valla authored On Pleasure to
defended pleasure
- He also wrote On the False Donation of
Constantine
- Valla had come across the Donation of
Constantine letter which was supposedly the
proof that Constantine the Great had given
the Papal states to the Catholic church and
Petrarch wrote sonnets to Laura
and Mrs. Olsen
Other writers include Boccaccio
• While the Black
Death
raged in the
countryside,
friends gathered to
hear stories.
Dante (1265-1321), considered a
Renaissance writer, lived just
prior to the Renaissance.
He wrote the “Divine
Comedy” in Italian—the
vernacular, which means
the language of the people
The Divine
Comedy was
a trip through
Heaven, Hell,
and
purgatory—a
half way
house for
sinners
Dante was in love with Beatrice, though he
only spoke to her once, she remained a
powerful inspiration
Both Laura and Beatrice were
famous inspirations to these great
writers. They became immortal.