Transcript Slide 1

The
Renaissance
“Renaissance” means Rebirth
The Basics
Who: Italian Intellectuals
 What: Social, Political, Artistic, and Religious
Changes
 Where: Italy and throughout parts of Europe
 When: 1350-1550
 Why: Unknown, but some theories:

 Black Death
 Trade Increase
 Printing Press
 Intelligence
The Printing Press
Invented by Johannes Gutenberg of Germany
 First book printed was The Bible
 The printing of books encouraged scholarly
research, literacy, and the spread of new ideas
and theories
 The impact was HUGE

Characteristics of the Renaissance

1) Urban Society
 Powerful City-States were the center of Italian political,
economic, and social life
 A secular, or worldly, viewpoint emerged as more wealth
allowed citizens to enjoy more material objects.

2) Recovery
 Getting over the disasters of the early 14th century

3) Emphasizing individual ability
 “Men can do all things if they will”
 Well-rounded “Renaissance Man” as ideal
The Italian States
During the Middle Ages, Italy failed to develop a
strong Monarchy
 This allowed many city-states to be independent
 The three most important were

 Milan
 Venice
 Florence

Trade was IMPORTANT
 Byzantine and Arab empires
 Territory gained during the Crusades
 Traded for SILK, sugar, and spices
Milan
Located in Northern Italy
 Access to the Alpine Mountains, which were
necessary to cross if you wanted to get to the rest
of Europe
 For a long time, the city was run by members of
the Visconti family
 When the last member of that family died, the city
was taken over by Francesco Sforza
 He led a band of mercenaries (soldiers who
worked for the highest bidder
 Efficient tax system = $ for government

Venice
Officially run by a Doge, an elected leader
 In reality, run by a small group of self-serving
wealthy merchants
 Most people made money by trading with the
Byzantine Empire to the east.
 Because of their fleet of mercantile ships, they
became and international power

Florence
Cultural center of the Renaissance
 A small group of wealthy men led Florence into
wars with neighboring areas to gain control
 The powerful and rich Medici family controlled the
government
 For a short time (during a recession), the Medicis
were out of power
 They returned to power after the new leader, a
Dominican preacher, restricted gambling, art,
swearing, music and books. He was sentenced to
death.

The Italian Wars
Because Italy never developed a strong Monarchy,
they were very susceptible to invasions from
nearby kingdoms
 France invaded in 1494
 Italy asked Spain for help
 Spain fought to get the French out
 In Spain, Spanish mercenaries were demanding to
be paid. Spanish King Charles told them to take
their payment from Italy.
 The mercenaries sacked Rome, sold church
officials, killed innocent people, and burned much
of the city.

Humanism

An intellectual movement based on:
 History
 Poetry
 Philosophy
 Ancient texts
Petrach – founder of humanism
 Humanists tended to be solitary
 They dedicated their lives to the service of the
state
 Had a major impact on Education

 Learn from the people who have already done this!!
Machiavelli and “The Prince”
His book, “The Prince”, is one of the most
influential books on political power ever written
 In the Middle Ages, many writers stressed that
morality should determine political action
 Machiavelli rejected this idea
 He stated that a prince should act on behalf of the
people, and that sometimes this meant putting
ones conscious to the side
 Since men are “ungrateful liars, deceivers, and
infinitely greedy”, political action on their behalf
should not be restricted by morality

Vernacular Literature
Most books were written in Latin, but some wrote
in the vernacular
 Vernacular = language unique to a region

 Italy: Dante’s “Divine Comedy”
○ About Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise
 England: Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”
○ Described different classes of English society
 France: Pizan’s “Book in the City of Ladies”
○ Defended the intelligence of women
Renaissance Education
Education aimed to change people and help them
be virtuous and wise
 On top of educational topics, students also were
taught physical education
 The goal of education was create citizens and not
just smart people
 Females were rarely in school
 If ladies went to school, they were only taught
morals, music and religion

Renaissance Art
During the Renaissance, humans and nature
became the focus of art. Artists tried to make
things as Realistic as possible
 Masaccio was the 1st Renaissance artist
 Two important developments:

 1) using light and perspective to create reality
 2) investigation of anatomy and movement

These two developments meant that a lot of
Renaissance paintings are almost 3-D, appears
lifelike, and has a lot of nudity
Renaissance Art
Sculpture and architecture also made great strides
during the Renaissance
 Tried to reflect a Human-centered world

 Churches were created to be comforting and not
overwhelming to the worshipper

Filippo Brunelleschi
 Most famous architect
 Hired by the Medici family in Florence

FILIPPO - Church of San Lorenzo
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
of the Renaissance

Donatello - SCULPTOR
 Realistic, free-standing statue of St. George

Leonardo da Vinci – The “Renaissance Man”
 focused on realism and capturing the perfection &
beauty of nature

Raphael – one of Italy’s best PAINTERS
 Best known for his numerous MADONNAS (paintings of
the Virgin Mary)

Michelangelo – painter, sculptor, and architect
 Painted the entire ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
 Took 4 years to complete
Sistine Chapel

The paintings systematically tell the major
sotires of the bible.
The paintings systematically tell the major stories of the bible.
“Creation of Adam”
Sistine Chapel
DA VINCI
 MONA LISA


RAPHAEL

DONATELLO