Download The Renaissance

Ohio Academic Content Standard #6
The Renaissance in Europe introduced revolutionary ideas,
leading to cultural, scientific and social changes.
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Renaissance means “Rebirth”
Started in Northern Italy in the 1300’s and
lasted into the 1600’s
During this period there was a reawaking of
interest in art, literature, and science, as well
as in the classical civilizations of Greece and
Rome
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Feudal and Manor Systems
Wars
Plague
Church
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Centrally located
between Eastern and
Western Europe and the
Middle East.
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Surrounded and
captivated by remnants
of Greek and Roman
culture.
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Italians had wealth to
build libraries and
acquire and restore art.
Cities that were both
cities and independent
states
 Had their own
governments and were
not closely controlled
by nobles or the
Church
 Wealthy families or
wealthy merchants
held power.
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Italian merchants controlled
European trade with Asia
Italian merchants brought
back precious goods such as
silk and spices from trading
centers around the
Mediterranean Sea
They transported these goods
throughout Europe, reselling
them at high prices
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Being at the center of this lively international
trade exposed the Italian city-states of other
cultures and ideas
Since trade brought them wealth, many
northern Italians had more time to think, read
and create and enjoy art
The wealthy became great patrons (financial
supporters) of scholarship and the arts
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Lorenzo de Medici
 The Magnificent
Ruled the city of Florence
He was a generous and
powerful patron of the
artists, poets and
philosophers.
 Invited others to use his
large collection of art
and literature
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In the 1300’s, scholars
and artists in Italy
began to look at life in
a new way
 First they looked back,
not to the Middle Ages,
but to the literature,
science, and art of
Ancient Greece and
Rome.
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Ruins of fine
architecture and
realistic statues were
all around them,
especially in the city of
Rome.
 These works inspired
study and curiosity as
well as a new focus on
the achievements of
individual people.
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Renaissance scholars
and artists developed a
new focus on the
nature, ideals, and
achievements of
human beings, rather
than on the divine
MIDDLE AGES ART
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Artists of the Middle Ages
had not painted people or
nature realistically
Their goal had been to
celebrate God, the saints,
and the Church
RENAISSANCE ART
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Artists of the Renaissance
studied and copied the
more realistic art of
Ancient Greece and Rome
While they continued to do
religious paintings, they
often used the architecture
and clothing of their own
time for these biblical
scenes
To better understand
how to portray people,
Italian painters and
sculptors studied the
bones and muscles of
the body
 Some artists even
dissected corpses to
learn about anatomy
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Perspective made
objects and landscapes
look more realistic
 By making distant
objects smaller, artists
could create scenes
that appeared threedimensional
 They also used light to
make objects look solid
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He worked in Florence and
Rome; he was talented as a
painter, sculptor, poet, and
architect.
Famed for the biblical
scenes he painted on the
ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel in the Vatican. c.
As a sculptor - he is best
known for his Pieta,
David, and Moses.
Michelangelo also
designed the dome of St.
Peter's Basilica in Rome.
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He worked in Florence, Milan,
and Rome.
He was a skilled painter,
sculptor, architect, musician,
engineer, and scientist.
In military engineering - he
improved the method of
loading cannons and devised
equipment for scaling walls.
He devised the possibility of
a parachute and a flying
machine.
In painting he is best known
for his Self Portrait, The Last
Supper, and the Mona Lisa.
Worked in both
Florence and Rome.
 Known for the Frescos
he painted in the Papal
Library at Rome.
 He also painted the
Sistine Madonna and
School of Athens
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Florentine sculptor
best known for his life
size statue of St.
George and
Gattemelata on
Horseback
 Sculpted in bronze,
wood and marble
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Invented by the German
printer Johann
Gutenberg
 Printing press used
moveable type
 He printed the Bible in
1455
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Making books is cheaper
 More people reading
 Literacy increases
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More books published
 Scholars had access to one
another's work (past and
present)
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Printing carried the
Renaissance north into
France, England,
Germany and the
Netherlands
Machiavelli was a
Florentine diplomat
 He drew on his
experience of politics
and his study of
Roman history to write
The Prince.
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 Which he dedicated to
Lorenzo de Medici
This book was a guide for
gaining and keeping power
 Machiavelli said rulers should
use whatever methods were
necessary to accomplish their
goals
 He advised rulers that getting
results was more important
than keeping promises
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The Prince became
famous and controversial
 Today, the term
Machiavellian still refers to
cynical dishonesty in
politics
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 Machiavellian: using clever
lies and tricks in order to get
or achieve something