Download Early and Northern Renaissance

Renaissance = Rebirth
1400’s
1600’s
Context
• Late Middle Ages = war, plague,
feudal society
• 1300-1600 witnessed an explosion of
wealth and creativity
• Renaissance is the
“rebirth of classical art and learning”
Renaissance
began in Italy
Architecture of the Renaissance
Column decoration
Architecture of the Renaissance
Dome – interior detail drawing
Architecture of the Renaissance
Architecture of the Renaissance
Interior of the Church Nave
Values of the Middle Ages vs.
Values of the Renaissance
• Middle Ages
– poverty
– survival
– please God above self
– glorify God in art
– glorify God in architecture
Values of the Middle Ages vs.
Values of the Renaissance
•Renaissance
– live richly
– materialism
– seeking pleasure won’t offend God
– glorify self in art
– glorify self in architecture
The Italian Connection
Three benefits
• Urban Centers
– Overseas trade/crusades
– Many sizable towns
– Bubonic plague benefited survivors
• Merchants and government
– City-states run independently
– Wealthiest/powerful class: Meritocracy/Oligarchy
– Medici family ruled Florence
• Classical Heritage
– Return to Greco-Roman roots (ruins of Rome)
– Latin manuscripts
Renaissance Florence
A shift in values
• Humanism: focus of human potential and
achievement by Petrarch
– Study of Greek and Roman classical texts:
history, literature, philosophy
– Greek values: truth, justice, beauty, virtue
• Worldly Pleasures
– Enjoy life without offending God: secular society
– Material luxuries, fine music, tasty food, expensive
clothes
• Patrons of the Arts
– Popes beautified Rome
– Artists were financially supported = Medici Family
– Prominent political figures are now subjects of art
Humanism and Petrarch
• Father of Humanism
– He led the search for Greek and Roman
manuscripts (books and letters)
buried in the monastic
libraries throughout Europe.
– Promoted intellectualism
and study of the classics
Francesco Petrarch,
1304-1374
Lorenzo de’Medici
of Florence
• City controlled by the
Medici family
(1397-1495)
• Expanded learning,
art, and architecture
• Controlled
international banking
Renaissance Art
• Realistic style (perspective)
• Prominent citizens
• Greco-Roman topics (like nudes) added to
the religious subjects of the Middle Ages
– Paintings • Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus”
• DaVinci’s “Mona Lisa”
– Free standing statues –
• Michelangelo’s – “David”
Renaissance Men and Women
L’uomo
– Ideal individual
strove to be a
master at most
things
– Charming, funny,
dance, play
music, write
poetry, martial
arts
– The Renaissance
man had many
talents
• La donna
– Upper class
women were
expected to
be charming
and educated
– Inspire art
– Some
exercised
power as rulers
of city-states
Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre: The
Duke & Dutchess of Urbino
Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466
Da Vinci’s “La Belle Ferroniere”
Pope Pius II- 1548 to 1564
Women of the Renaissance
Men of the Renaissance
The Great Renaissance Men
• Leonardo Da Vinci
(1452 –1519)
– Painter, sculptor,
inventor, scientist
• Mona Lisa
• Last Supper
– His drawings
included:
• Suspension bridges,
helicopters, and
underwater travel
• Michelangelo
(1475 –1564)
– Painter, architect,
poet, sculptor
• Dome of St.
Peter’s
• Sistine Chapel
• Statue of David
Da Vinci’s “Last Supper”
Michaelangleo’s Sistine Chapel
Michaelangelo’s
“Creation of the Heavens”
and “Pieta”
Renaissance Writers
• Boccacio - Writer
• Machiavelli
– “The Prince”
– A guidebook for
politicians: how to
gain power and keep
it
– As a ruler, it is better
to be feared than
loved
• 1440: Gutenberg
creates a full size
moveable type
printing press
– Bible
– Mass produce
books, decreasing
costs
– Vernacular –
Languages like
French, Spanish
Renaissance
Style
printing press
Legacy of the Renaissance
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Solidified Greco-Roman legacy
Realistic painting
Spread of language & information
Power of the individual
New discoveries lead to further invention
Legal processes more clear
Humanism changed the ideal life
People began to question religious/political
structures