Renaissance – “rebirth”
Location – spreads to
Northern Europe
Location – starts in Italy
(the boot!)
Renaissance
“Rebirth” of
classical
culture
People –
Shakespeare,
Erasmus, artists
Da Vinci and
Michelangelo
Birth of
modern world
Map of Renaissance Italy
What
characteristics of
Italian geography
made the
Renaissance
possible?
NOT anti-Church
Secular
Focus on humanity, self
Individual
Humanism
Focus on education
Self-Improvement
Supported by wealthy
patrons
Medici family, Church
Revival of
Greek/Roman
culture
Classical
Characteristics of the Italian
Renaissance






Humanism
1. focus on self – humanity, ideas of selfimprovement and free will to decide all actions,
based on human reason
2. secular learning, NOT anti-Church, often
accused of being anti-Church due to the shift in
influence (Erasmus)
3. focus on education as an avenue for selfimprovement, education means one can move up
in society
4. revival of Greco-Roman ideals – art (Leonardo
and Michelangelo), architecture, philosophy,
literature (Petrarch, Shakespeare)
5. supported by wealthy patrons (Medici)
Characteristics of the Northern
Renaissance – Christian Humanism
 Christian humanism –add Christian
beliefs to humanist ideas of selfimprovement and education.
 Erasmus – Netherlands
 1. The Praise of Folly – brought to light
issues in the Catholic Church, poked
fun
 2. #1 Humanist
 Shakespeare – England
 1. #1 Poet, Playwright in world history
(might get some arguments, but from a
historical sense, he is focused on the
most)
 2. Focuses on the humanity of the
human condition – faults are often fatal
 3. Ex. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet,
Macbeth – takes historical subjects,
modernizes it for current people
Michelangelo – Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo, 1508-1512
The Creation of Adam
How does the Creation of Adam reflect Humanism?
Michelangelo – David
How does the David reflect
humanism?
Leonardo da Vinci – Vitruvian Man
“uomo universalis” How does the Vitruvian Man
reflect humanism?
Leonardo selfportrait
Leonardo da Vinci – The Last Supper
The Last Supper
How does this image
of Jesus reflect
humanism?
Leonardo – La Gioconda (Mona Lisa)
Mona Lisa – details
Effects of the Printing Press
Effects of the
Printing
Press
Developed by Johannes Gutenberg, Germany
after original development by Chinese
Increased literacy
Spread ideas faster
Printing of Bible in
Vernacular
English, German
These Five Things
 1. The Renaissance was a “rebirth” of classical Greek and Roman
culture, and the “birth” of the modern world – that spread from Italy
to Northern Europe.
 2. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and
sculpted the David; Leonardo painted The Last Supper and the
Mona Lisa.
 3. Erasmus was a Northern Renaissance humanist who focused on
combining the Catholic Church and secular culture in his The Praise
of Folly.
 4. The development of the Gutenberg printing press led to the
growth of literacy throughout Europe, the printing of the Bible in the
vernacular English, French, and German, and the spread of ideas in
the Renaissance and Reformation.
 5. Overall, the Renaissance increased secular culture, individualism
(humanism), and religious tolerance.
Exit Ticket and Homework
1. What is the Renaissance?
2. Is the Renaissance a continuation of the
medieval period or the birth of the modern
world (pick 1 only!)? Why do you feel this
way?
3. What is humanism?
4. Who is the ideal humanist, and why?
5. What people today would be considered
humanists?