Download Renaissance and Reformation

Renaissance
14.1
The Renaissance

The term means…

What is being remembered?
Characteristics
1.
2.
Urban society and Secular viewpoints
Recovery from:
 Plague
 Political instability
 Decline of Church power
3. Recognition of Roman (classical) past
4.
Emphasis on individual ability (human
worth)

“The Renaissance Man”—Leonardo da Vinci
Development of the
Renaissance

Why Italy?
1. Recall…

This lack of a strong ruler made it possible for
a number of Italian city-states to remain
independent
2. Also…

Geography + Center of old Roman Empire +
Crusades = 1st European area to come out of
the Dark Ages
(arguable whether they entered)
3. Consider…
Italians became interested in classical
teaching
 Wealthy Italians patronized the arts—
Artistic awakening
 Italian scholars studied classical
literature—ancient achievements

The Italian Renaissance
1513
Textbook p. 375
“Everyone realizes how praiseworthy it is for a
prince to honor his word and to be
straightforward rather than crafty in his
dealings; nonetheless contemporary
experience shows that princes who have
achieved great things have been those who
have given their word lightly, who have known
how to trick men with their cunning, and who,
in the end, have overcome those abiding by
honest principles…a prince, therefore, need
not necessarily have all the good qualities I
mentioned above, but he should certainly
appear to have them…He should not deviate
from what is good, if that is possible, but he
should know how to do evil, if that is
necessary.”
Machiavelli


Among the first to abandon morality
as the basis for analyzing political
activity
Attitude towards power must be based
on an understanding of human nature
– “One can make this generalization about
men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and
deceivers, they shun danger and are
greedy for profit.”

A leader acts on behalf of the STATE
Renaissance Society
Distinctive Renaissance

Humanism?
p. 326
– Interested in improving society and understanding
contemporary, daily life
– Petrarch p. 326
– Erasmus p. 332

Vernacular Literature
– Vernacular—everyday speech
– Dante Divine Comedy
(Italian)
– Chaucer The Canterbury Tales
(English)
Education


Humanists believed in its importance
Purpose:
– To create complete citizens NOT great
scholars
– Provided the model for the basic
education (for ruling classes) until the 20th
century
Art

Medieval
– Religion
– World beyond
everyday life
– Formal, stylized
figures
– Holy Land

Renaissance
– Religious & nonreligious subjects
– Realistic and lifelike
– Rugged countryside
Art
New Techniques
– perspective
Medieval
Renaissance

Art
New Techniques
– Use of light
Medieval
Renaissance

Art
New Techniques
– Human Anatomy
and movement
– Realism
Medieval
Renaissance

Sculpture
– Realism
– Human Anatomy
– Movement
Look @ the
power in his
TOES!
Medieval
Architecture
Draws eye………
Renaissance
– Reflected the new
human-centered
world
Medieval
The Renaissance Masters

Da Vinci
– Mastered the
realistic style
– Sought to
master idealism

Raphael
– Tried to achieve
ideal beauty
– Balance,
harmony, order

Michelangelo
– Idealism—
perfect
proportions
– To reflect divine
beauty
Leonardo da Vinci
Raphael
Michelangelo
Face of the Pieta
Northern Renaissance Art

Jan van Eyck
– Oil paint =


Lots of colors
Fine details
– Great attention to
detail

Albrecht Dürer
– Travelled to Italy
learning from the
artists
– Saw potential of
illustrations in
books
Van Eyck
The Madonna with Canon van der Paele
Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride
Dürer
Knight, Death, and the Devil
Lot and His Family Flee Sodom
Still painted in detail too. p. 332