Download The Renaissance - Northern Burlington County High School

The Renaissance in Italy:
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Lecture Notes
What was the
Renaissance?
Renaissance =
“Rebirth”
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Time of creativity &
great change in many
areas – political,
social, economic, and
cultural.
Renaissance
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Period begun by Italy’s educated to recreate
the culture of Greece and Rome
Renaissance
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Marked a shift from an agricultural to
urban society.
A Changing Worldview
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Medieval Scholars: focused on religious
beliefs and spirituality
In contrast…
Renaissance Scholars: explored the richness
and variety of the human experience – “the
humanities” – in the present.
Society emphasizes individual
achievement
The Renaissance Ideal:
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Was a person with talents in many fields
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Prime Example: Leonardo da Vinci
A Spirit of Adventure
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Led to exploration of new worlds & the
reexamination of old ones.
Writers and artists experiment with new forms
and techniques
Humanism: key philosophy that
stressed self-worth of the individual &
a love of learning and the arts.
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Studied classical culture of Greece and Rome
Focused on worldly subjects rather than
religious issues
Believed education should stimulate the
individual’s creativity
Emphasized the humanities – grammar, rhetoric,
poetry, and history.
Where did the Renaissance begin?
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ITALY!
Center of the Roman Empire – lots of culture:
architectural remains, statues, coins…
Rome: seat/ head of the Roman Catholic Church
Central location for trade – E. Mediterranean & N.
Africa
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Provided the wealth that feuled Italy’s Renaissance
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Trade routes carried new goods AND new ideas
Italy’s Vibrant City-States!
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Each city-state was controlled by a powerful and
wealthy merchant class.
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Medici Family of Florence, Famous Patrons of the Arts
Valued: political and economic power; interest in
funding the arts & emphasis on personal
achievement
City-states were competitive
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Encouraged education
Cities had greater concentrations of the educated
Universities were well-established in city-states
III. An Italian Renaissance Who’s
Who: A Closer Look!
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A. Artists: “The Greats” (Think Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Leonardo
Michelangelo
Donatello
Raphael
1. Leonardo da Vinci
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Born in Florence, Italy
1452 – 1519
Mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist,
painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician,
and writer
Two of his most famous works: The Mona
Lisa and The Last Supper
1. Leonardo da Vinci
a. Painter
1.. The Last Supper
 2. The Mona Lisa
b.. Writer
c. Architect
d.. Engineer
e. Mathematician
f. Musician
g. Philosopher
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self -portrait
Michelangelo
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1475 – 1564
Painter, sculptor, architect, poet, & engineer
Famous works include: The Pieta, David,
Creation of Adam, and Moses
2. Michelangelo Buonarroti
a. Sculptor
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1. The Pieta
 a.) shows Mary,
mother of Jesus,
holding her son
after his death
 b.) communicates
the themes of grief,
love, acceptance,
and immortality
2. David
*minus the fig leaf - LOL!
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a.) 13 foot marble
statue – impressive
2.) unsurpassed
representation of the
human form –
suppressed energy,
depth of expression
Michelangelo (con’t.)
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b. Painter
1. Most famous for his
artwork on the ceiling of
the Sistene Chapel
in Rome – art historians
consider this one of the
greatest achievements in
the history of painting due
to the personalized
characterization of Biblical
figures
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b. Created sweeping
scenes from the Old
Testament of the Bible.
3. Donatello
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a. formal name: Donato di Niccolo di Betto
Bardi
b. sculptor
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1.) worked with both marble and bronze
2.) known for two Davids – one in marble and
one in bronze
4. Raphael
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a. formal name: Raffaello Sanzio
b. painter
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1.) The School of Athens
a).his most famous work
b.)fresco: painting made
on fresh, moist plaster
c.) classic example of the
use of perspective
2.) also known for his paintings of the
B. Writers: reflected the Renaissance
curiosity and interest in the humanities
1. Baldasare Castiglione
2. Niccolo Machiavelli
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a. author of the
widely read, The
Book of the Coutier
b. focused on
manners, skills,
values, and gender
differences
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a. wrote The Prince
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1.) a guide on how to gain
“and maintain power
2.)ruthless “the end justifies
the means
b. ideas still spark
debate today
c. today the term
“Machiavellian”
describes deceit in
politics
What was the impact of the printing
press?
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Johann Gutenberg (1455) printed the first complete
Bible using a printing press with movable type.
A Printing Revolution
Books are cheaper and easier to produce.
More people learned to read.
Readers gain access to broad range of knowledge.
Exposed educated Europeans to new ideas and
places.
Remember, new ideas/ awarenesses = cultural
change
Think about this!
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Before the printing press (1455), there were
only a few thousand books in all of Europe.
By 1500, some estimates have Europe with 15
– 20 million volumes.
What happened to the rest of Europe
during the Renaissance?
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Northern Europe was recovering from the Black
Death
By the 1400s, cities of northern Europe experienced
economic growth – supply & demand – to develop
their own renaissance.
Began in the cities of Flanders (parts of present day
northern France, Belgium, & the Netherlands)
Spread to Spain, France, Germany, & England.
Northern Humanists & Writers
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Scholars wrote mainly in Latin, others began
writing in vernacular.
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Appealed to the new middle class audience
Famous Writers of the North
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Sir Thomas More – Utopia
William Shakespeare
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Wrote 37 plays between 1590 – 1613
“…not of an age, but for all time”
> 1,700 words appeared for the first time in his works