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3.02a, 3.02b
The Renaissance
Definition:
• In the early 1300s, a movement
began in Italy that would
become known as the
Renaissance, or "rebirth." The
Renaissance was characterized
by a renewed interest in ancient
Greece and Rome.
Causes:
• The Black Death had completely shaken European
society
• Ruins of the Roman Empire still reminded Italians
of Roman glory
• The Crusades brought Europeans in contact with
Byzantium, whose scholars had preserved Greek
and Roman learning
• Increased trade with Asia and Africa brought
Europeans in contact with Arab and African
achievements
Patrons of the Arts
• Wealthy merchants in
Italian cities such as
Florence, Milan, Naples,
Rome, and Venice
became patrons of the
arts. Examples include
Lorenzo de Medici and
Isabella d'Este.
The Italian Renaissance:
• The Italian Renaissance
began in the city-states
of Northern Italy
• It began in the 14th
century
• Italian scholars turned to Classical Greek and
Roman literature to study grammar, history,
and poetry
• These studies are called humanities, and
people who specialized in them were called
humanists.
• Renaissance humanists searched out
manuscripts written in Greek and Latin.
Humanism
• Intellectual movement during
the Renaissance that focused
on the study of worldly
subjects, such as poetry and
philosophy, and on human
potential and achievements.
• Study classical texts to focus on
human potential and
achievements
• Popularized study of history,
literature and philosophy =
humanities
Enjoying Worldly Pleasures
• Don’t live simply,
enjoy all of life’s
luxuries
• People became
secular meaning they
were more concerned
with worldly affairs
than religious ones.
4 Features of Renaissance Art
• Individualism – unique qualities of human
face, show individual character in lifelike
way
• Balance & Proportion – nature as standard,
architecture for realism, show images in
proper size
• Perspective – impression of depth and
distance on flat surface
• Oil Paint – allowed painters to work more
slowly, make new colors, life-like effects,
show texture
Donatello
• Sculptures were in
natural poses and had
expressions
• His David was the
first nude since
Roman times
Leonardo da Vinci
• A painter, sculptor,
inventor and a scientist =
Renaissance Man
• Studied how the human
body worked
• Sketched inventions of the
airplane and submarine
• Famous works: Mona Lisa,
The Last Supper, Vitruvian
Man
Mona Lisa
The Last Supper
Vitruvian Man
Notebooks
Leonardo da Vinci dissected corpses
to learn how bones and muscles work
Michaelangelo
• Renaissance Man
• Famous for portrayal
of human body in
sculpture and
paintings
• Famous works: Pieta,
David, Sistine Chapel
Ceiling
Pieta
Raphael
• Hired by Pope Julius II to
paint on the walls of the
Vatican
• Portrayed expressions of
calm
• Famous Work: School of
Athens where Greek
Philosophers were
meeting with Renaissance
artists
The Northern Renaissance:
• The Northern
Renaissance describes
the Renaissance in
Northern Europe in the
15th and 16th century
• Trade, the movement of
artists and scholars, and
the development of
printing helped spread
Renaissance ideas
northward.
Self Portrait, Albrecht Dürer
The Arnolfini Wedding, Jan Van Eyck
Change in Language
• Began to write in the vernacular
• Writing in your everyday language
• Wrote for self-expression or to portray
individuality
Machiavelli Advises Rulers
• Wrote The Prince
• Said people are selfish
and corrupt
• To succeed in a wicked
world a prince must be
strong and sly
• Must trick enemies and
their own subjects to stay
in power
Political Ideas of the Renaissance
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527)
An Italian Philosopher and Writer based in Florence during
the Renaissance
The Prince (Published in 1532)
Machiavelli believed:
“One can make this generalization about
men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and
deceivers, they shun danger and are
greedy for profit”
Machiavelli observed city-state rulers of
his day and produced guidelines for how
to gain and maintain power.
Absolute Rule
He felt that a ruler should be willing to do
anything to maintain control without
worrying about conscience.
• Better for a ruler to be feared than to be loved
• Ruler should be quick and decisive in decision making
• Ruler keeps power by any means necessary
• The end justifies the means
• Be good when possible, and evil when necessary
Today, the term “Machiavellian”
refers to the use of deceit in politics
William Shakespeare
1564-1616
• English poet and playwright
• Well-known plays include:
Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet
• Influence and Impact on the
Renaissance:
He expanded the dramatic potential of characterization
(his characters were very complex), plot, language (creative),
and genre
• Printing Press - Around 1450,
the German Johannes
Gutenberg created moveable
type - letters of the alphabet
on metal plates that could be
arranged on a wooden press.
Chinese and Koreans used a
similar process using wooden
blocks centuries earlier, but
Gutenberg's invention seems
to have been independent of
the Chinese process.
• The printing press was
significant because books
could now be made quickly
and inexpensively.