Download The Intellectual Renaissance

Chapter 14: Section 3
The Intellectual and
Artistic Renaissance
The Intellectual Renaissance:
Humanism
Secular (non-religious) worldview
 Emphasis on the individual
 Freedom of choice
 Capability
 Study of the classics: Greek & Roman literature
 Grammar, rhetoric, poetry, philosophy, history
 Pure classical Latin (Cicero, Virgil)
 Petrarch: the father of Renaissance humanism

“New” Humanism






Florence, early 15th century
It is a duty of an intellectual to live an active life
Participate in civic life = work for the state
Knowledge of humanities should serve the state
Humanists served as secretaries in city-states to
princes & popes
Vernacular literature (Dante, Chaucer, de Pizan)
Dante, Chaucer, and de Pizan
Humanism’s Effect on Education
Goal: a complete citizen = a well-rounded human
being, who possesses virtue, wisdom & rhetorical skills
 Education = practical preparation for life 
education is essential
 Liberal studies: history, philosophy, rhetoric, grammar,
logic, poetry, mathematics, astronomy, music
 A sound mind in a sound body  P.E.
 javelin, archery, dance, running, wrestling, swimming,
hunting

The Artistic Renaissance






A new world perspective
Human beings were the focus of attention
The imitation of nature: to see the reality of the
objects and events they were portraying
Used the laws of perspective
Observed nature and the human body
Tried to achieve ideal beauty
Painting
Early 15th century,
Masaccio: frescoes
 Painting on fresh,
wet plaster w/
water paints
 Laws of
perspective: illusion
of 3D  realistic

St. Gerome and St. John the Baptist;
St. Paul
Sandro Botticelli, 65
(c. 1445-1510)
Painting
15th century, Florentine painters
modified Masaccio’s style: Botticelli, da
Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo (the last
3 were from the High Renaissance)
 Laws of perspective + the organization
of outdoor space & light through
geometry
 The investigation of human movement
& anatomy
 Later
Leonardo da Vinci, 67
(1452-1519)

Master of realistic
painting (autopsies)

Advocated stepping
beyond realism into
idealism

To capture the
perfection of nature and
the human body
The Mona Lisa; The Last Supper
Rafaelli Sanzio a.k.a. Raphael, 37
(1483-1520)

Virgin Mary paintings

Frescoes

Tried to surpass human
standards of beauty

Harmony, balance and
order
The Sistine Madonna; Madonna with
the Book; The School of Athens
The School of Athens
Michelangelo Buonarotti, 89
(1475-1564)

Painter, sculptor architect

Great passion & energy

The ideal type of human
being w/ perfect
proportions = a reflection
of divine beauty
The Last Judgment; Dome of St.
Peters
Sculpture and Architecture



In Florence:
Donatello: statue of St.
George
Filippo Brunelleschi: the
church of San Lorenzo
Renaissance vs. Gothic Styles:
The Cathedral of Notre Dame
Renaissance vs. Gothic Styles:
The Church of San Lorenzo
The Northern Artistic Renaissance
vs. Italian Renaissance




In the Low Countries (esp. Flanders) vs.
Northern Italy
Illustrations for books & wooden panels for
altarpieces vs. wall paintings, i.e. frescoes
Small-scale painting vs. large-scale painting
But, BOTH realistic painting
Jan van Eyck, 46
(1391-1441)




Flemish painter
On of the first painters
to use oil paint
Wide variety of colors &
fine details
Imitated nature by
observing it (not by using
the laws of perspective)
Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride;
Margaretha van Eyck
Albrecht Dürer, 57
(1471-1528)





Nuremberg, Germany
Studied in Italy
Used the laws of
perspective
Used details
harmoniously
Observed the human
body & tried to achieve
perfect beauty
Adoration of the Magi
Hare; Praying Hands
The End