Download The Renaissance 1300-1600 Renaissance = Rebirth Rebirth in art

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The Renaissance 1300-1600
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Renaissance = Rebirth
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Rebirth in art, writing, and thinking
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Caused by changes in Europe
Increase in trade – Silk Roads connecting Europe and China
Exposure to new ideas
Plague killed large amount of population – fewer serfs to work land weakened Feudal
System
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Begins in Northern Italy
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Trade routes between Europe and Asia passed through northern Italy
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Development of cities: Florence, Venice, and Milan
Florence, more than any other city, symbolized and became the center of the Italian
Renaissance.
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Humanism: focus on human beings’ potential for achievement
Look to Greek/Roman developments for inspiration
Emphasis on classical subject such as history, grammar, literature, and philosophy
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Changes in Thought
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Humanism places emphasis on the individual
Less blind acceptance of Church authority
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Focus on human mind increased creativity and desire to experiment and explore
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Review Question
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What is humanism?
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Technological Advances
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Printing Press invented in the 1400s by Johannes Gutenberg
Printed the first mass-distributed book
Gutenberg Bible
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Allowed for spread of material
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Vernacular = native language
Makes things easier for people to read
Draw own conclusions
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Education
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People educated themselves by reading the past works of the Greeks and the Romans
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Scholars concerned with the Classics believed in Humanism
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Improvements in printing in Europe during the Renaissance led to an increase in learning and
literacy
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Spread of the Renaissance
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Growth of cities – Expansion of trade creates wealthy merchant class
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Monarchs supported the arts
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Cultural Interaction – People shared ideas
Wars in Italian cities in 1400s, people fled to Northern Europe for safety
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Northern Renaissance Artists
Not as much focus on classics
More detail of everyday life
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Review Question
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How did the Printing Press change Europe?
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Renaissance Minds
Francesco Petrarch – poet, leader of Humanist movement
Patron: wealthy person or family who financially supported the arts and/or an artist
Renaissance Art: more realistic through use of perspective (3 dimensions, objects
appear nearer or farther), shading attention to human detail.
 Renaissance Artist
 Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa
 –made plans for the first tank and helicopter
–created the first calculator
–outlined a theory of plate tectonics
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The Last Supper
Renaissance Artist
Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel Cont.
Renaissance Artist
Michelangelo is the Renaissance artist known for his many great sculptures including
David, Moses, and the Pieta.
Review Questions
How did Leonardo da Vinci contribute to the Renaissance?
How did paintings change in style during the Renaissance?
Renaissance Writer
Dante Alighieri: wrote about life after death
“Divine Comedy”- considered greatest literary work in the Italian language
The MAIN way Dante Alighieri contributed to the advancement of literature was
by writing in Italian
Renaissance Writer
William Shakespeare: English writer, strong understanding of human nature
“To be or not to be, that is the question”
Born in Stratford England, William Shakespeare was one of its most popular playwrights
and helped shape the Northern Renaissance.
Review Question
How did literature change during the Renaissance?