Download European Society in the Age of the Renaissance

European Society in the Age
of the Renaissance
Chapter 13
Factors and Events leading to the
Renaissance!
• Crusades led to increase trade between Italian cities:
Venice, Genoa, and Milan and the Middle East.
• Shipping advances allow business all year and much
larger volume of sales. Especially wool shipping of
Florentine merchants
• Florence is used for Papal banking needs. Bank
Offices in Paris, London, Barcelona, Tunis, etc.
• Extra $ was had to invest and the cities had the desire to
show their wealth.
• Italy was the location of the great ancient Romans with
plenty of reminders of “Classic” culture and style
Government Set-up of the Cities
• Signori or despots and oligarchies comprised
of merchant aristocrats ruled
• Constitutions and laws existed but were
manipulated!
• Masses had no say in government affairs yet the
appearance of a republic was maintained
• The republics set-up by popolo faded
• Princes/despots were patrons of the arts
and flaunted their love of learning with gifts.
• They used occasions as a means of
demonstrating magnificent pageantry
Government Set-up of the Cities
• Individualistic, these cities crushed
uprisings, killed enemies, and overawed
the masses
• Used a balance of power principle
against each other
• Eventually established a system of
ambassadors and embassies
• Instability invited foreign attacks
Major players on the Italian
Peninsula!
Venice
Milan
Florence
Papal States
Naples
Venice
• Became wealthy through trading with the
East
• In late 1300s defeated Genoa in trade war
• Created empire with lands on Dalmatian
coast, and islands like Cyprus and Crete
• Official government was considered a
“republic” with a constitution but in
actuality ruled by an oligarchy of merchant
aristocrats who appointed the DOGE.
Papal States
• Pope Alexander VI
1492-1503
• Cesare Borgia (his son)
• Machiavelli’s The Prince
(Based on Borgia)
• Pope Julius II (15031513)
• Pope Leo X (15131521)
Pope Alexander VI
Borgia
Cesar Borgia
Milan
• Sforza Family rule begins
in 1450
• Ruled without
Constitutional restraint
• Dominated political
events in Northern Italy
• Ludovico (1479-1499)
ruled as a military chief
and despot
• Short-sightedly invited
French invasion in 1494.
Florence
Lorenzo
• Cosimo Medici 14341464
• Lorenzo Medici 14691492
• Girolamo Savonrola
1452-1498 was
outspoken critic of
Medici and Pope
Alexander VI. He
was killed!
Florence
G. Savonarola
N. Machiavelli
Major Clashes/Events
• Venice-Milan War and Treaty of Lodi 1454
• In 1494,Florence/Naples then agree to take
Milanese lands. Milan invited France to attack
Italy and get back Naples.
• Charles VIII of France conquered the
peninsula down to Naples.
• Savonrola had weakened and influenced
Florence 1494-1498
• 1495, League of Venice ousts French
Major Clashes/Events
• Louis XII invades Milan 1499 and later forms the
League of Cambrai 1508 – against Venice
• 1500 – Borgia's conquer Romagna
• Holy League of (Pope Julius, Aragon,
Maximilian and Swiss) go defeat the French
1513.
• 1515 – Francis I leads third French invasion
• 1516 – Concordat of Bologna for French
• 1519 – Charles V takes over as HRE
• 1521 - Beginning of Hapsburg-Valois Wars
ended in 1559
• 1527 – Sack of Rome by Charles V Imperial
troops
Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis 1559
ends the Hapburg-Valois Wars
• Spain wins! France defeated
• This will influence the policy and positioning of
both countries in later conflicts
• Spanish governors would be installed in Sicily,
Naples, and Milan.
• Spanish influence would continue in other Italian
areas as well.
• *** The wars were very costly and Francis I sold
public offices and agreed to the Concordat of
Bologna to gain revenue.
Major Clashes/Events
• Francis I leads a third French Invasion
1515.
• Pope agrees to Concordat of Bologna with
French 1516.
• New alliances pitted (Pope, Spanish,
Germans) against French beginning the
Hapsburg-Valois Wars 1521
• 1527 sack of Rome by Hapsburg
Charles V
Intellectual Movements
• Individualism – sense of self and accomplishments, potential and
uniqueness Ex. B. Cellini’s autobiography
• Humanism – term coined by L. Bruni. Petrarch and Mirandola were
well known members. studied Latin classics to gain insight about
human nature and knowledge. Tracked down ancient manuscripts to
read original versions. Focused on history, poetry, literature, rhetoric of
the ancients. Admired the style of classical writing and thought it to be
more powerful than the Middle Age Styles. Ex. The Florentine Academy
and the revival of Platonism.
• Secularism – concern with material world instead of the spiritual.
Enjoy the here and now! Ex. G. Boccaccio’s The Decameron, discussed
usury and its acceptance as well as the idea that it is harmful to impose
upon people severe moral standards that contradict normal human
behavior!
• Classicism – Revival of “Classic” ancient culture of Greeks and
Romans (architectural, writing, religion, etc.)
The Artist and Artwork
• Some artists became very famous and
works were commissioned by wealthy
including institutions such as Catholic
Church.
• Three types of paintings: frescoes, egg
tempera, and oil.
• Many other art forms existed from
architecture to woodcarving, bronzing,
sculpting and goldsmithing.
Italian Renaissance vs.
Northern Renaissance
• The North had fewer examples with secular
theme. It focused more on Christian value. This
was especially true of humanist authors.
• Painters used more oil paint. Weather conditions
and drying times made frescoes difficult.
• Works did NOT have as much devotion to
ancient, classic cultures.
• Works were often commissioned by royal
houses.
The Big Three Artists and High
Renaissance
• Da Vinci 1452-1519 Last Supper and
Mona Lisa
• Michelangelo 1475-1564 Sistine Chapel
and David sculpture
• Raphael 1483-1520 School of Athens
Italian Renaissance
• Raphael’s Madonna
of the Meadow, 1509
• Narrative—telling a
story.
• Perspective—seen
from a unique
vantage point.
• Chiaroscuro—light
and shadow model
three dimensionality
School of Athens, Raphael
*please note symmetry and balance!
Albrecht Durer – Self Portrait
Michelangelo’s, David
Battle of San Romano,Uccello
Judith Slaying
Holofernes,Gentileschi
Primavera, Botticeli
Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (c. 1480)
Botticelli, Adoration of the Magi, 1470-75
Da Vinci’s, Last Supper
Da Vinci’s, Mona Lisa
also called “La Gioconda”
Florence Cathedral and Baptistery
Brunelleschi
Ghiberti
Saltcellar of Francis I,Cellini
Northern Renaissance Art
• Jan Van Eyck begins
as an illuminator—
detail
• Oil paint had been
around; he is the first
to discover linseed oil,
a varnish that dries at
a consistent rate
• Oil holding pigment in
suspension reflects
light
“Disguised symbolism”
• Single candle and dog:
fidelity in marriage
• Green: fertility and hope
• Shoes removed: standing
in a holy places
• Gendered space: man is
wearing outside clothes
and patterns; woman is
inside, with slippers
• Fascination with reflective
surfaces: beads,
chandelier
Pieter Bruegel and Hans
Holbein
Mannerism (late Ren. but before Baroque)
• Characterized by
clashing colors
• Elongated limbs or
body design
• Nudity
• Uncomfortable
poses or positioning
• Unbalanced design
• Bronzino Deposition
Christian Humanism
(love, hope, faith)
• Northern Europe
• Some anxiety with Secular
Humanism
• Humanism has the potential to
deepen relationship with Christ and
create moral reform
• Emphasized use of reason and
pursued ethical way of life
• personal communication with major
thinkers all over Europe (Latin)
Notable Christian Humanists
Sir Thomas More
-wrote Utopia – “means no
where”
-where time is devoted
equally to business and
intellectual thinking
-where chamber pots are
made of precious metals
and the wealth is shared
equally
-respected by all, he was
eventually beheaded by
Henry VIII as he
disapproved of his
actions.
Notable Christian Humanists
Desiderius Erasmus
-wrote The Praise of Folly
(1509) and The
Education of a Christian
Prince (1504)
- “I brought it about that
humanism, which among
the Italians … savored of
nothing but pure
paganism.”
- Advocates translation of
Bible into the vernaculars
of the people.
Writer’s of the North
• Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536), The
Praise of Folly
• Thomas More (1478-1538), Utopia
• Francois Rabelais (1490-1553) Gargantua
and Pantagruel
• Shakespeare (1564-1593) Hamlet, Julius
Caesar, Othello, among others.