THE
RENAISSANCE
RENAISSANCE:

Historical period in Europe
from about 1300-1600 where
a renewed interest in the
classical culture of Greece
and Rome led to changes in
art, learning, and worldviews.

Renaissance (French for rebirth)
This time period is seen as a distinct
passing from medieval to modern
society.
 A rebirth from the “Dark Ages” aka
the Middle Ages – approximately
1,000 years between the fall of the
Roman Empire and the Renaissance.

Some Ways to Describe It…
A time of creativity and great
change
 A rebirth from the disorder of the
Middle Ages (Black Death, wars,
etc…)
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Why did the Renaissance begin in
Italy?
1.) History – ruins from ancient
Rome provided inspiration;
Italians wanted to revive greatness.
2.) Thriving City-States – key location;
crossroads for trade; great wealth.
3.) Wealthy merchant class –
dominated politics in Italian citystates; were patrons of the arts
Themes of the Renaissance
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Individualism:
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In contrast to Christian humility of the
Middle Ages.
Uniqueness, Personality
Confidence in ability to achieve greatness
Genius, development of full potential
Quest for glory
Humanism
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Education centered around the study of
the Latin classics.
Studied these classics to understand
human nature rather than only to
understand God.
Focus on the humanities – grammar,
rhetoric, poetry, history, etc…
Secularism
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A basic concern with the material world
instead of the spiritual world. “Worldly”
Attention on improving life in the here
and now, but did not abandon religion.
More focus on education, business,
wealth
More leisure time, art patronage, etc…
Introduction to Art (handout!)
Medieval Period
 500-1500 AD
 Feudalism
 Catholic Church
 Purposes of Art:
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Renaissance
 1400-1650
 Rediscovery of works of
Greeks and Romans
 Purposes of Art
To teach religion to
illiterate people
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Forms of Art:

Stained glass windows,
sculptures, manuscripts,
paintings, tapestries
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To show the importance of
people and nature, not just
religion
Forms of Art
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Sculptures, murals,
drawings, paintings
Characteristics of Art
Medieval:
Renaissance:
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Religious
Figures look flat and stiff
Fully clothed
Solemn faces, no emotion
Vibrant colors
2 dimensional
Backgrounds often a
single color--gold
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Both religious and nonreligious scenes
Figures look perfect,
idealized
Bodies may be nude or
clothed
Real people doing real tasks
Expressive faces, emotion
Lots of interest in nature,
detail
Use of perspective in
backgrounds and symmetry
(balance)
Classical, Medieval and
Renaissance Art

http://www.slideshare.net/MrsHeller/cla
ssical-medieval-and-renaissance-art
New Techniques
Perspective: The linear
representation of distance and
space on a flat surface.
 How? By making distant objects
smaller than those close to the
viewer. Gives the illusion of
depth.
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Examples of Perspective
Techniques
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Shading
Illumination
The Geniuses of
Renaissance Art
1.
2.
3.
4.
Leonardo da Vinci
Michelangelo
Raphael
Donatello
Leonardo da Vinci
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Painter, sculptor,
inventor, scientist
http://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=
lFN5hRukDlo
Mona Lisa
 The Last
Supper
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The Last Supper
Why so famous??
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IitbJ
szd1kM
http://www.monalisamania.com/faqmai
n.htm
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/30/13880
0110/the-theft-that-made-the-monalisa-a-masterpiece
Michelangelo
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Famous works
include:
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Pieta
statue of David
ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel in
Rome
Pieta
Statue of David
Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u8
LDXhFzPo
Raphael
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A student of
Leonardo and
Michelangelo
Famous painting:
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The School of
Athens
The School of Athens
How it embodies the themes
of the Renaissance
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh1
YGIyn-ok
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9G0Ndxopg
Who is in the School?
http://www.phschool.com/atschool/calif
ornia/webcodes/history_interactive/mw
p-5153/common_player.html
Donatello
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Most famous for his
sculptures
Most famous is his
bronze statue of
David
Important Writers/Literature
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Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374)
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“Father of Humanism”
Poet
Famous for writing sonnets – 14 line
poems to Laura
Other Humanists…
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Desiderius Erasmus (1469-1536)
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Orphan; joined a monastery
Most famous work: The Praise of Folly
(1509) – used humor to expose immoral
behavior of clergy
Key Beliefs:
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Education is key to moral/intellectual
improvement
Christian attitude/study of the Bible
Other Humanists…
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Thomas More (1478-1535)
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Lawyer, writer, counselor to Henry VIII
Most famous work: Utopia (1516)
“nowhere”
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Ideal, nearly perfect society
Very radical for its time
Beheaded in 1535
Writing in the Vernacular
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Dante (1265-1321)
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From a noble family in Florence
Wrote the Divine Comedy between 13131321.
Journey of the soul through afterlife;
Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise
Written in the Italian vernacular; helped
develop the language.
Writing in the Vernacular
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Geoffrey Chaucer (c.
1340-1400)
 Wrote The
Canterbury Tales
in the English
vernacular
language.
Shakespeare
Renaissance Guidebooks
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The Book of the Courtier (1528)
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Guide to becoming a Renaissance
gentleman
The ideal Renaissance man should be:
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Educated in many subjects
Know how to sing, dance, play an instrument
Able to compose a sonnet, wrestle, ride
expertly, and speak and write eloquently.
Renaissance Guidebooks
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The Prince (1513) by Niccolo
Machiavelli
About political power
How the ruler should gain, maintain,
and increase it
“Machiavellian” – use of deceit in
politics
“the end justifies the means”
Renaissance
Architecture
Return from the Gothic style of
the Middle Ages to the Classical
styles of Early Greece and
Rome.
 Architecture became simpler,
more symmetrical: columns,
arches, domes
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