Download The Renaissance in Italy

The Renaissance in Italy
What is the Renaissance?
• The word Renaissance means “Rebirth.”
• During the Middle Ages, people had lived lives centered around their villages or towns.
• Their lives were based around the Catholic Church.
What changed during the Renaissance?
• The Renaissance began around 1300 and reached its peak around 1500.
• The Renaissance marked the transition from the medieval world to the modern world.
• Interest was reawakened in the Greek and Roman writings and learning.
• During the Middle Ages, scholars focused on religion. Renaissance thinkers focused on this
lifetime and the experience of being human.
• This movement was called humanism. These new thinkers focused on a variety of topics.
The Renaissance Starts in Italy.
• Italy had the remains of Ancient Rome.
• Italy was on the Mediterranean and in an ideal place for trading.
• The Roman Catholic Church was based in Italy.
• Italy was divided into city states.
Patrons and Powerful Families
• City states were ruled by powerful families and a strong merchant class.
• The Medici family of Florence was the most famous of these.
• These families served as patrons of the arts. That means they gave money to artists.
Renaissance Art Flourishes
• Many artists were supported by powerful patrons.
• They more topics than just religious themes.
• Artists made realistic artwork and used perspective.
• Perspective means making close items larger than far items to make it seem realistic.
• Artists also used shading and correct anatomy.
Leonardo Da Vinci
• He was the ultimate Renaissance man.
• He was a painter and engineer.
• He created famous paintings and also created inventions.
• He was known for his curiosity and ingenuity.
• He learned about human anatomy by dissecting cadavers.
Anatomical Drawings
Mona Lisa
Last Supper
Michelangelo
• He was a sculptor, engineer, painter, architect, and poet.
• He created marble masterpieces and painted the Sistine Chapel.
• He also created the design for the dome of St. Peter’s Cathedral.
David
Pieta
Sistine Chapel
School of Athens
The Printing Revolution
• During the Middle Ages, books were copied by scribes and monks by hand.
• Around 1455, a German named Johann Gutenberg created the first moveable type printing press.
• This made books much more common and much more accessible to the people.
Sir Thomas More’s Utopia
• Thomas More was an English writer.
• He wrote a book about a perfect society called “Utopia” where everyone is equal and everyone
lives in peace and harmony.
• We still use the word utopia to describe a perfect world or society.
William Shakespeare
• Shakespeare was the most important literary writer during the Renaissance.
• He wrote 37 plays that are still performed today.
• He also greatly enriched the English language.