Download Renaissance in Italy

Renaissance in Italy
Time of discovery, of both the world and of
man
1350-1550
Time of Recovery from 14th century
• Black Plague- population stabilizes
• Economic recession- due to fact much
of Europe was dying
• Italian economy 15th century: wool,
cloth, metallurgy (impt. for
weapons),mining, silk, glassware, and
banking
The Renaissance
• Begins in late 1300’s
• Refers to the cultural
developments seen in
Europe from the 14th 16th centuries.
• Phrase coined by Italian
artist Vasari to welcome
the return of classical
excellence
What is the Renaissance?
• French for ‘rebirth’; the word describes the
reawakening, rebirth, of interest in the heritage
of the classical past saw Middle Ages as Age of
darkness because of lack of classical culture
• A secular movement that focused on the
individual, not the group
• Renaissance individualism focused on great
accomplishments with optimism and sought
heroes of history –perfecting the individual
• Realism replace idealism-logic and reason
• Occurred in urban, not rural areas
Virtú
• Focused on Virtú- the
essence of being a
person through
showing of human
abilities
• Ability could manifest
itself in speech, art,
politics, warfare, or
anywhere by seizing
opportunities available
• Many saw this pursuit
as amoral
Individualism for Whom?
• Focus on human
dignity and human
potential created a
new social ideal of a
well-rounded person
who has many skills
(Renaissance Man)
• Aimed at wealthy and
elite only- peasant
improvement not
expected or welcome!
Italian CityStates
Birthplace
of the
Modern
World?
Why Italy?
• Economics- Northern Italy was very wealthy
from wool/cloth trade and international
banking
• This wealth allowed some to pursue
intellectual/artistic endeavors and others to
financially support them – enjoyment of
worldly goods
• Politically- the city-states of Italy were
independent (not under one king. Often ruled
by one man or family, these city-states
competed with each other by supporting
artists and scholars
• Historically- Northern Italian cities built on
ruins of ancient Rome
• Revival in study of Roman law and writers
Social Order
• Society, like during the Middle Ages still
remained divided into three estates:
• First Estate=clergy - # 1 because of spiritual
guidance they provided
• Second Estate=nobility- role was to provide
security and justice for society
• Third Estate=peasants and people who lived
in towns and cities
The Second Estate: Nobility
• 2 to 3% of population, but
controlled most of the wealth
and held great social and
political power – still
• Now had expectations:The
Book of the Courtier
• Grace, character, noble birth,
military skills, a classical
education and the arts
• Be that well-rounded
Renaissance Man
• Role of noble: serve his prince
effectively and honestly
Baldassare Castiglione by Raphael,
1514-1515
 Castiglione
represented the
humanist
“gentleman” as
a man of
refinement and
self-control.
Third Estate: Peasants
&Townspeople
• 85 to 90 % of population
• More and more legally free
after Black Death, still work
land and poor
• Towns- much more socially
and economically stratified
• Patricians/wealthy
merchants, shopkeepers
and artisans, unskilled
laborers and the
unemployed
Slaves
• Shortage of workers due to
Black Death caused Italy (and
others) to introduce slavery
on a large scale
• Used mostly as skilled
workers and playmates for
children
• Mostly female they came
from Russia, Africa and Spain
• Slavery declined by end of
fifteenth century – moral and
economic reasons
Machiavelli
• Florentine – served as a
diplomat
• He was devastated when
Italy was attacked in 1494
• Wanted Italy to restore
order and gain political
prominence in Europe
• Wrote The Prince (1513)
• Men are self-centered and
when dealing with politics
do not be restricted by
moral considerations
• “better to be feared than
loved”
Italian Renaissance Humanism
• Humanism- reading and understanding of
writings and ideals of the classical past
• Civic humanism- use of humanism in the political
life of Italian city-states
• Christian humanism (mostly Northern Europe)humanism focused on early Church writings
instead of secular authors (goal was to blend
Christian and Humanistic concerns)
Education
• Humanists believed humans could be
dramatically changed by education
• Founded secondary schools; liberal studies
(history, rhetoric, moral philosophy, grammar
and logic, mathematics, astronomy and music)
• Goal: produce people who would follow a path
of virtue and wisdom and share their
knowledge, through rhetoric, with others
• Mostly for the elite and males; few females
attended these schools, but the prevailing
attitude of the time– women should focus on
religion and morality, not their intellect
• Multiple printing with
moveable type (14551450)
• Johannes Gutenberg
of Mainz
• Gutenberg Bible
(1455-56) first to be
produced by
moveable type
• Presses spread
rapidly throughout
Europe
• Begins development
of lay public who
reads
• Made it easier to
spread ideas – both
intellectually and
religious
Impact of Printing
By: Susan M. Pojer
Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua,
NY
Art and Patronage
• Italians were willing to spend a lot of
money on art.
– Art communicated social, political, and
spiritual values.
– Italian banking & international trade interests
had the money.
• Public art in Florence was organized and
supported by guilds.
Therefore, the consumption of art was used as a
form of competition for social & political status!
1. Realism & Expression
 Expulsion from
the Garden
 Masaccio
 1427
 First nudes since
classical times.
2. Perspective
The Trinity
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Masaccio
1427
Perspective!
First use
of linear
perspective!
What you are,
I once was;
what I am,
you will
become.
3. Classicism
Greco-Roman
influence.
Secularism.
Humanism.
Individualism  free
standing figures.
Symmetry/Balance
The “Classical Pose”
Medici “Venus” (1c)
4. Emphasis on Individualism
 Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre: The
Duke & Dutchess of Urbino
 Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.
Isabella d’Este – da Vinci, 1499
1474-1539
“First Lady of
the Italian
Renaissance.”
Great patroness
of the arts in
Mantua.
Known during her
time as “First
Lady of the
World!”
5. Geometrical Arrangement of
Figures
 The Dreyfus
Madonna
with the
Pomegranate
 Leonardo da
Vinci
 1469
 The figure as
architecture!
Florence Under the Medici
Medici Chapel
The Medici Palace
 Filippo Brunelleschi
1377 - 1436
 Architect
 Cuppolo of St. Maria
del Fiore
Filippo Brunelleschi
• Commissioned to
build the cathedral
dome.
– Used unique
architectural
concepts.
• He studied the
ancient
Pantheon in
Rome.
• Used ribs for
support.
Brunelleschi’s “Secret”
Brunelleschi’s Dome
Dome Comparisons
Il Duomo
(Florence)
St. Peter’s
(Rome)
St. Paul’s
(London)
US capital
(Washington)
Donatello (1386-1466)
• Most influential
Florentine artist
before Michelangelo
• Revived the classical
figure of the nude
body
• His work, David, was
the first nude statue
of the Renaissance
The Liberation of
Sculpture
 David by Donatello
 1430
 First free-form bronze
since Roman times!
 Vitruvian Man
 Leonardo da
Vinci
 1492
The
L’uomo
universale
The Renaissance “Man”
• Broad knowledge about many things in
different fields.
• Deep knowledge/skill in one area.
• Able to link information from different
areas/disciplines and create new
knowledge.
• The Greek ideal of the “well-rounded
man” was at the heart of Renaissance
education.
1. Self-Portrait -- da Vinci, 1512
 Artist
 Sculptor
 Architect
 Scientist
 Engineer
 Inventor
1452 - 1519
Leonardo, the Artist
 The Virgin of
the Rocks
 Leonardo da
Vinci
 1483-1486
Leonardo, the Artist:
From hisNotebooks of over 5000 pages (1508-1519)
A Macaroni Mona
A Picasso Mona
An Andy Warhol Mona
A “Mona”ca Lewinsky
Mona Lisa OR da Vinci??
The Last Supper - da Vinci, 1498
& Geometry
vertical
The Last Supper - da Vinci, 1498
horizontal
Perspective!
A Da Vinci “Code”:
St. John or Mary Magdalene?
Leonardo, the Architect:
Pages from his Notebook
Plan of the city of Imola, 1502.
Leonardo, the Scientist (Anatomy):
Pages from his Notebook
Leonardo, the Inventor:
Pages from his Notebook
Man Can Fly?
Leonardo, the Engineer:
A study of siege defenses.
Pages from
his Notebook
Studies of water-lifting
devices.
Leonardo da Vinci….
O investigator, do not flatter
yourself that you know the
things nature performs for
herself, but rejoice in knowing
that purpose of those things
designed by your own mind.
Comparing Domes
Michelangelo (1475-1564)
• Also skilled in many
areas
• Sculptor, painter and
architect (saw himself
primarily as a
sculptor)
 David
 Michelangelo
Buonarotti
 1504
 Marble
15c
What
a
difference
a
century
makes!
16c
The Popes as Patrons of the Arts
The Pieta
Michelangelo
Buonarroti
1499
marble
The Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo
Buonarroti
1508 - 1512
The Sistine Chapel’s Ceiling
Michelangelo Buonarroti
1508 - 1512
The Sistine Chapel Details
The
Creation
of the
Heavens
The Sistine Chapel Details
Creation of Man
A Modern “Adaptation”
Joe Gallo in the New York Daily News, 2004
The Sistine Chapel Details
The Fall
from
Grace
The Sistine Chapel Details
The Last Judgment
The School of Athens – Raphael, 1510 -11
• One point perspective.
• All of the important Greek philosophers
and thinkers are included  all of the
great personalities of the Seven Liberal
Arts!
• A great variety of poses.
• Located in the papal apartments library.
• Raphael worked on this commission
simultaneously as Michelangelo was
doing the Sistine Chapel.
Raphael (1438-1520)
• Considered to be the
greatest painter of the
Renaissance
• Use of great
proportion and
perspective
The School of Athens – Raphael, 1510 -11
Da Vinci
Raphael
Michelangelo
The School of Athens – Raphael, details
Plato:
looks to the
heavens [or
the IDEAL
realm].
Aristotle:
looks to this
earth [the
here and
now].
Hypatia
Pythagoras
Zoroaster
Ptolemy
Euclid