The
Renaissance
Factors that Contributed to the
Beginning of the Renaissance
• Trade and commerce increased
• Cities grew larger and wealthier
• Newly wealthy merchants and bankers supported the
growth of the arts and learning
• The Renaissance was an age of recovery from the disasters
of the 14th century, such as the plague, political instability,
and a decline of Church power
• Recovery went hand-in-hand with a rebirth of interest in
ancient culture (e.g., ancient Greece and Rome)
• A new view of human beings emerged as people in the
Italian Renaissance began to emphasize individual ability
What was the Renaissance?
The Renaissance was a cultural movement
and a time of renewal (Europe was
recovering from the Dark Ages and the
Black Death/Bubonic Plague)
Renaissance means “rebirth” of classical
knowledge and “birth” of the modern
world (new intellectual and artistic ideas
that developed during the Renaissance
marked the beginning of the modern
world)
Where did the Renaissance begin?
•Italy
•Italian Cities
•Urban Societies
•Major Trading Centers
•Secular Movement
•People lost their faith in the church and began to
put more focus on human beings and material
possessions
When did the Renaissance Take
Place?
Roughly the 14th to the 17th century
How did the Crusades contribute
to the Renaissance?
Crusades (1095 – 1291) = Religiously
sanctioned military campaigns waged by
Roman Catholics against Muslims who had
occupied the near east since the Rashidun
Caliphate (founded after Muhammad’s
death in 632, the Rashidun Caliphate was
one of the largest empires of the time
period)
Increased demand for Middle Eastern
products
Stimulated production of goods to trade in
Middle Eastern markets
Encouraged the use of credit and banking
What about the Black Death?
• Widespread fear of the disease
• Loss of faith in the church
• Focus on life
Italian City-States
Because Italy failed to become united during the Dark
Ages, many independent city-states emerged in Italy.
Each city-state was controlled by a powerful family and
dominated by a wealthy merchant class. Their interest
in art and emphasis on personal achievement helped to
shape the Italian Renaissance.
Example: The Medici family of Florence ranked among
the richest merchants and bankers in Europe; they
ruled Florence for over 70 years.
Major Italian
City-States
Milan
One of the richest cities, it controls
trade through the Alps.
Venice
Located on the Adriatic Sea, it is a
major trade route between Asia &
Europe.
Florence
Controlled by the Medici Family, who
became great patrons of the arts.
Milan
Venice
Genoa
Florence
Genoa
Had Access to Trade Routes
Rome
Headquarters of the Catholic
Church
All of these cities:
• Had access to trade routes connecting
Europe with Middle Eastern markets
• Served as trading centers for the
distribution of goods to northern Europe
Rome
Centralized Power
One governing authority (ex. U.S. Federal
Government; principals) controls power
over several smaller entities (ex. State
governments; teachers)
What makes a good leader?
• On a separate sheet of paper, make a list:
• What positions call for leadership?
– Ex. Principal
• What characteristics do good leaders have?
– Ex. Fairness
• What powers or skills does a leader need to get things
done?
– Ex. Good connections
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.
Activity
• Read and annotate the excerpt from The
Prince.
• Then, using your list of characteristics of a
leader, make a Venn diagram:
• In the overlapping area, what both you and
Machiavelli think of as essential traits, skills,
or powers of a leader of a nation
• On the left, what you look for in a leader of
a nation but Machiavelli doesn't
• On the right, what Machiavelli wants in a
leader of a nation but you don’t
• 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
•Cultural and educational reform
•The study of classical culture (ancient Greece and Rome),
in contrast with the study of things related to the church
and religion
• Celebrated the individual
•Was supported by wealthy patrons (financial supporters)
The Renaissance produced new ideas that
were reflected in the arts, philosophy, and
literature.
Patrons, wealthy from newly expanded
trade, sponsored works which glorified
city-states in northern Italy. Education
became increasingly secular.
Classical art showed the importance of people
and leaders, as well as gods and goddesses
Medieval art and literature focused on the
Church and salvation
Renaissance art and literature focused on the
importance of people and nature, along with
religion
Classical Art
History Alive! Pg. 316 ‘Discobolus’
• Figures were lifelike but often idealized (more
perfect than in real life)
• Figures were nude or draped in togas (robes)
• Bodies looked active, and motion was believable
• Faces were calm and without emotion
• Scenes showed either heroic figures or real people
doing tasks from daily life
Medieval Art
• Most art was religious, showing Jesus, saints,
people from the Bible, and so on
• Important figures in paintings were shown as
larger than others around them
• Figures looked stiff, with little sense of movement
• Figures were fully dressed in stiff-looking clothing
• Faces were serious and showed little feeling
• Paint colors were bright
Renaissance Art
• Artists showed religious and nonreligious scenes
• Art reflected a great interest in nature
• Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional, reflecting an
increasing knowledge of anatomy
• Bodies looked active and were shown moving
• Figures were either nude or clothed
• Scenes showed real people doing everyday tasks
• Faces expressed what people were thinking
• Paintings were often symmetrical (balanced, with the right
and left sides having similar or identical elements)
• During the Middle Ages, art and learning
were centered on the church and religion
• But, at the start of the 14th century
– People became less interested in thinking about
God, heaven, and the saints
– More interested in:
• Themselves
• Their surroundings
• Their everyday lives
Secular Humanism
• Secular- not religious
• Humanism- placing the study and progress
of human nature at the center of interests
Rise of Humanism in Art
• We will look at paintings and discover
specific clues to tell the difference between
paintings from the Renaissance and earlier
works of art
Very early
Renaissance
painting, so it
contains
characteristics of
the Middle Ages
Halos?
Hieratic scale
Lesson 5 Objectives
SWBAT:
1. Cite artistic, literary, and philosophical
creativity, as contrasted with the medieval
period, including Leonardo da Vinci,
Michelangelo, and Petrarch
2. Compare the Italian and the Northern
Renaissance, and citing the contributions
of writers
Renaissance artists embraced some of the ideals
of ancient Greece and Rome in their art.
The purpose of art would no longer be to glorify
God, as it had been in Medieval Europe. Artists
wanted their subjects to be realistic and focused
on humanity and emotion.
New Techniques also emerged.
Art and Patronage
Italians patrons (financial supporters) were willing to spend a
lot of money on art
– Art communicated social, political, and spiritual values
and therefore, the consumption of art was used as a
form of competition for social & political status.
What was different in the Renaissance?
Realism
Perspective
Emphasis on individualism
Geometrical arrangement of figures
Light and shadowing
Softening of edges
Artist able to live from commissions
Characteristics of Renaissance Art
1. Realism &
Expression
Expulsion from the Garden
Masaccio
1427
First nudes since classical times.
2. Perspective
The Trinity
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Masaccio
1427
Perspective!
Perspective!
First use
of linear
perspective!
What you are, I
once was; what I
am, you will
become.
4. Emphasis on Individualism
Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre:
The Duke & Dutchess of Urbino
Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.
5. Geometrical Arrangement of Figures
Leonardo da Vinci
1469
The figure as
architecture!
The Dreyfus Madonna
with the
Pomegranate
6. Light & Shadowing/Softening Edges
Sfumato:
Chiaroscuro:
use of light
and shade
Ginevra de' Benci, a
young Florentine
noblewoman who, at
the age of sixteen,
married Luigi
Niccolini in 1474.
gradual
blending of
one area of
color into
another
without a sharp
outline
Born in 1475 in a small town near Florence, is
considered to be one of the most inspired men
who ever lived; he was a sculptor, painter,
engineer, architect, and poet.
David
Michelangelo
created his
masterpiece
David in
1504.
The Biblical
shepherd,
David (who
killed Goliath)
recalls the
harmony and
grace of
ancient Greek
tradition
 15c
What
a
difference
a
century
makes!
16c 
Sistine Chapel
About a year after creating
David, Pope Julius II
summoned Michelangelo to
Rome to work on his most
famous project, the ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel.
Depicts the biblical history of
the world from the Creation to
the Flood
Creation of Eve
Separation of Light and Darkness
Creation of Adam
The Last Judgment
Pieta 1499
Marble Sculpture
Captures the sorrow of the Virgin
Mary as she cradles her dead son,
Jesus on her knees
Moses
1452-1519
Painter, Sculptor,
Architect,
Mathematician,
Engineer
Mona Lisa
(1503-1506)
The Last Supper
(1495-1498)
Jesus and his apostles on the night
before the crucifixion
Notebooks
Leonardo da Vinci dissected corpses
to learn how bones and muscles work
Raphael
Painter
1483-1520
Perspective
The School of Athens
Subjects are mainly
secular, but can be
religious
Figures look idealized,
but can also look like
everyday ordinary people
Bodies are active
Clothed or unclothed
1510 Fresco
Vatican City
Faces are expressive
Detail
An imaginary gathering of great thinkers
and scientists
Pythagoras
Plato and Aristotle
Socrates
Raphael (back)
Euclid
Zoroaster & Ptolemy
Northern Renaissance
The Renaissance in northern Europe (outside Italy)
• There was increased cultural exchange between
European countries
• Printed materials helped to spread ideas
• Centralization of political power made the
northern Renaissance distinct from the Italian
Renaissance (e.g., nation-states instead of Italian
city-states)
• Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas.
• Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with
Christianity.
• The movable type printing press and the production and sale of
books (Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate ideas and allowed more
people to become educated.
Literature flourished during the Renaissance and
spread Renaissance ideas, which can be greatly
attributed to Johannes Gutenberg.
In 1455 Gutenberg printed the first book produced
by using moveable type, The Bible, and started a
printing revolution that would transform Europe.
Literacy rates
increased
Petrarch
Poet, Humanist
scholar
Francesco Petrarch
1304-1374
Assembled Greek and
Roman writings
Wrote:
Sonnets to Laura
(Love poems in the
Vernacular)
Influenced William Shakespeare
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
Erasmus
(1466-1536)
Dutch humanist
Pushed for a Vernacular form of the
Bible
“I disagree very much with those who
are unwilling that Holy Scripture,
translated into the vernacular, be
read by the uneducated . . . As if the
strength of the Christian religion
consisted in the ignorance of it”
Wanted to reform the Catholic Church
Wrote: The Praise of Folly
Used humor to show the immoral and
ignorant behavior of people, including
the clergy. He felt people would be
open minded and be kind to others.
Sir Thomas More
(1478-1535)
English Humanist
Wrote: Utopia
A book about a perfect society in
which men and women live in
harmony, there is no private
property, no one is lazy, all people
are educated and the justice
system is used to end crime instead
of executing criminals
Important to Remember
• Accomplishments in the visual arts –
Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael
• Accomplishments in literature (sonnets,
plays, essays) – Petrarch, Shakespeare
• Accomplishments in intellectual ideas
(humanism) – Erasmus