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The Renaissance Begins
Chapter 28
Just the Basics
The Renaissance began in Italy in the mid 1300’s
It spread throughout Europe in the 1400’s and 1500’s
Renaissance means re-birth
It was a re-birth of interest in classical art and learning
After the fall of Rome…
Rome fell in the 5th century
After this, the Roman Catholic Church
copied documents from the classical
period
This helped keep the teachings of
ancient Rome alive
However, during the middle ages, most
people did not have access to these
documents
Most people were uneducated during the
middle ages, and only learned what the
Church taught them about the bible
A new flow of ideas
During the late Middle Ages, merchants
and crusaders brought back goods and
ideas from the East including classical
learning that had been preserved in the
Byzantine Empire
Europeans began to read classical works
that came by way of Muslim scholars
This led to a rediscovery of Greek and
Roman culture
Scholars, artists, and architects began
studying classical works which led to a
great time of learning – the Renaissance
The
Renaissance
grew from the
teachings and
experiences of
the Classical
(Rome and
Greece) and
Medieval
periods in
Europe. These
were the
“roots” of the
Renaissance.
Three periods in Art:
Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance
Renaissance artists were inspired more by classical than
medieval art: it reflects a rebirth of interest in the
classical world.
Classical Art (500BCE- 500CE)
Included sculptures, pottery, murals, and mosaics
Showed importance of people, leaders, gods and goddesses
Valued balance and harmony
Figures were lifelike but often more perfect than in real life
Figures nude or draped in togas
Faces were calm- no emotion
Scenes showed heroic figures or real people doing tasks from daily life
Little background or perspective in paintings
Medieval Art (500-1300CE)
Created stained glass windows, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, paintings,
and tapestries
The purpose was to teach religion
Most art was religious
Important figures were show larger than others around them
Figures looked stiff, no movement
Figures were fully dressed
Faces were serious and showed little feeling
Paintings were two-dimensional
Colors were bright
Backgrounds were mostly one color- gold
Renaissance Art (1300’s- 1600’sCE)
Created sculptures, murals, drawings, and paintings
Tried to show the importance of people and nature
Showed religious and nonreligious scenes
Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional (showed an increased
understanding of anatomy)
Bodies looked active and in motion
Figures were nude or clothed
Scenes showed real people doing everyday tasks
Showed facial expression
Colors responded to light
Paintings were often symmetrical
Backgrounds showed perspective
Advancements
in ART AND
ARCHITECT
URE
blossomed in
in towns with
wealthy
patrons who
were able to
pay for art to
be created.
Trade and Commerce
Commerce – buying and selling of goods
Trade brought new ideas as well as goods from the East to Europe –The silk
road became safer due to Mongol conquests
Crusaders also brought back ideas
This created prosperous cities and more people with wealth to support art
and learning
Food, art, silk, and spices linked Europe to Africa and Asia
Bustling cities like Venice, Bruges,
Brussels, and Genoa attracted traders,
merchants, and customers
Many towns along trade routes
provided inns and other services
for traveling merchants
Increase in Trade
Led to the use of coins to buy goods: created a new
money economy
Moneychangers were needed to convert one type of
currency into another
SO craftspeople, merchants, and bankers became more
important in society
Bankers exchanged currency, loaned money to
merchants and rulers, and financed their own businesses
Merchants and bankers grew very rich- they could afford
to make their cities more beautiful
Wealthy patrons commissioned new buildings and art
Wealthy patrons also helped found universities so cities
grew into flourishing educational and cultural centers
The increase in
trade and
commerce
brought wealth
to towns and
grew a whole
new class of
merchants,
traders, and
bankers with
money to
spend on art
and learning;
thus adding
water to help
the
Renaissance
grow.
Italian City-States
City-states were independent states consisting of a city and its
surrounding territory
The Italian city-states conducted their own trade, collected their
own taxes, and made their own laws; some (like Florence) were
republics and were governed by elected councils)
Rich merchants often held most of the power which often stayed
in the hands of one family (like the Medicis in Florence)
Trade made Italian city-states wealthy due to their central location
on the Mediterranean trade routes
The city-state’s wealth encouraged a boom in art and learning.
Rich families became patrons of the arts and paid for the creation
of statues, paintings, beautiful buildings, and elegant avenues
They also built new centers of learning such as universities and
hospitals
The Growth
of City-states
were the
seeds of the
Renaissance.
City-states
became
centers of
wealth,
learning, and
art.
Humanism
Humanisim is a way of thinking that sought to balance religious faith with an
emphasis on individual dignity and an interest in nature and human society
Humanisits studied the classical world and tried to put ancient ideas into
practice.
They studied such subjects as art, architecture, government, and language They
also read classical history and poetry and began to ask probing questions.
One of the first Humanists was Francesco Petrach who loved old books and
searched for them all over Europe and encouraged his friends to bring him
any they found.
What did Humanism look like?
Humanists did not just imitate the past, they sought to
improve on the work of the Greeks and Romans
In universities, scholars began to teach methods of
observation and experimentation
Artists and students of medicine closely studied
human anatomy
Poets wrote about religious and everyday subjects
Writers produced works of history and politics
Humanistis separated the state and its right to rule
from the church (separation of Church and State is at
the root of the US constitution)
Renaissance thinkers prized individual achievement
more than a person’s class or family
Many humanist ideas brought them
into conflict with the Church
CHURCH
Laws were made by God
Those who broke laws were
sinful
Encouraged people to follow its
teachings without question in
order to save their souls
Life after death was more
important than life on Earth
HUMANISM
People should use their minds to
question everything
Tried to balance religious faith
and its emphasis on the afterlife
with an active interest in daily
life
Directly challenged teachings
that were dear to the church
Humanism
was the
sunlight that
let the
Renaissance
flourish. This
was a new
type of
thinking that
encouraged
individuality
and
questioning.