Download Slide 1

The Renaissance
What was the Renaissance?
•THE RENAISSANCE, PERCEIVED AS A "REBIRTH" OF
ANCIENT TRADITIONS IN ART, PHILOSOPHY,
LITERATURE, MUSIC, AND SCIENCE, TOOK AS ITS
FOUNDATION THE WORKS OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY
•EUROPEANS OF THE 14 TH THROUGH 16 TH CENTURIES
TRANSFORMED THAT TRADITION BY APPLYING
CONTEMPORARY ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENTS AND
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE.
I.
An Era of Awakening
A.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Causes
Ruins of Roman Empire
Byzantines had preserved Greek and Roman learning
Wealth from increased trade
Interest in early Christian writings
B.
The humanities (humanists)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Crucial approach to learning
Taught that life should have meaning
Studied classics
Admired human achievement
II. Italian Renaissance Writers
A. Petrarch
1. Studied classical writers
2. Believed it is important to lead a full and
active life here on earth
3. Father of Humanism
B.
Machiavelli
1. Lack of concern for conventional morality
2. Leaders should be concerned with power
and production
III. Italian Renaissance Art
A. Realistic scenes and images instead of
religious concerns
1. Artistic techniques
a.
b.
c.
d.
Perspective – Using lines and ratios to show distance
Foreshortening – Using lines to create dimension
Sfumato – Fading out sharp edges to create depth
Chiaroscuro – Using a contrast between light and dark to create
dimension (opposite of sfumato)
2. Italian Renaissance art focused on perfecting human
images
3. Northern Renaissance art focused on daily life
Example of Perspective
Examples of Foreshortening
Examples of Sfumato
Examples of Chiaroscuro
B.
Leonardo da Vinci
1. The Last Supper
2. Mona Lisa
C.
Michelangelo
1. Sistine Chapel ceiling
2. David
D.
Other artists: Rafael, Boticelli, Titian
Helicopter Design – Da Vinci
Mona Lisa – Da Vinci
Last Supper – Da Vinci
Renaissance Artwork
Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo
Maddalena - Raphael
Birth of Venus - Boticelli
David – Michelangelo
The Rape of Europa - Titian
IV. The Spread of Ideas
A. Johannes Gutenberg
1. Invented printing press
2. Used movable type to
print books
3. Copies of Bible
4. Allowed people to
have access to books
V. Northern Renaissance Writers
A.
Desiderius Erasmus
1. Studied early Christian as well as classical culture
2. Dutch Scholar
3. Criticized the church
B.
Thomas More
1. Wrote Utopia – about an idealistic island nation
a. Criticism of European society
C.
William Shakespeare
1. Transformed well-known stories into dramatic masterpieces
a. Historical plays- King John, Richard II, Henry VIII
b. Tragedy- Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, Macbeth,
Othello
c. Comedy- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice,
The Taming of the Shrew
VI. Northern Renaissance Artists
A. Great attention to detail
1. Facial expressions
B.
Realistic human figures and
subject matter
C.
Flemish school (Dutch)
1. Jan van Eyck
2. Brueghel
The Arnolfini Portrait – van Eyck
VII. Culture and Daily Life
A.
Superstitions
1.
The world of spirits
a. Believed God was a distant, unknowable force
b. People looked for explanations of and control over daily
life
c. People attempted to explain the unknown
2.
Disenchantment
a. Removal of belief in magic
b. Done during witch trials
3.
Belief in witchcraft
a. Wise people who gave explanations were witches
B. Daily Life
1.
Forms of recreation
a. People came together to:
◦ Drink
◦ Sew
◦ Do simple chores
◦ Tell stories
2.
Violence and protest in the village
a. Close-knit communities
b. Quarrels were common
C. The Spread of Knowledge
1.
Books for the masses
a. Broadsides
b. Almanacs
2.
Religious ideas and education
a. Printed books became available
b. Primary schools were founded
c. The church promoted and helped spread
education
D. Changes in Daily Life
1.
The economy
a. Standard of living rose for some
b. More peasants able to earn wages due to new freedoms
2.
Diet
a. New spices and vegetables
3.
Housing
a. People moved from country to cities
b. Had only necessities
4.
Decline of traditional culture
a. Rational thinking more widespread