The Renaissance
Objectives
The student will demonstrate
knowledge of developments
leading to the Renaissance
in Europe in terms of its
impact on Western
Civilization by:
– Identifying the economic
foundations of the Italian
Renaissance
– Sequencing events related to
the rise of Italian city-states and
their political development,
including Machiavelli’s theory
of governing as described in
The Prince
– Citing artistic, literary, and
philosophical creativity, as
contrasted with the medieval
period, including Leonardo da
Vinci, Michelangelo, and
Petrarch
– Comparing the Italian and the
Northern Renaissance, and
citing the contributions of
writers
The Renaissance
Late Middle Ages, Europe
suffered from both war and
plague
Those who survived wanted
to celebrate human life and
the human spirit
People began to question
institutions like the church
In Northern Italy, writers
began to express this new
spirit and experiment with
different styles
“rebirth”
Renaissance means
rebirth
Between 1350- 1550
Italians witnessed a
rebirth of the ancient
Greek and Roman
worlds
Rival of art and learning
Italy of three advantages
– Thriving cities
– Wealthy merchant class
– Classical heritage of
Greece and Rome
Three Characteristics of
the Renaissance
– Urban society
– Recovery from disasters
– Emphasizing individual
ability
Urban Society
Powerful city-states
emerged from the Middle
Ages
City-states center of
Italian political,
economic, and social life
Italy urban compared to
rural Europe
Had a growing secular,
or worldly, viewpoint
Increasing wealth,
enjoyment of material
things
Cities conducive to
spreading of ideas
City-States
No centralized monarchy
developed during the
Middle Ages
– lack of single strong ruler
Three city-states
remained independent
– Milan, Venice, and
Florence
Prospered from
– Flourishing trade during
the Middle Ages
Profited from the Crusades
– Able to extend trading into
Eastern ports
– Developed Mercantile
fleet
Merchants did not inherit
wealth, earned it (and
status) with with, believed
they deserved wealth and
power because of their
individual merit
Milan
Northern Italy
– Crossroads of main trade
routes from Italian cities to Alps
Mountains
One of the richest Italian
cities
Rulers
– Visconti family dominated the
region starting in the 14th
century
– Became Dukes of Milan and
the Lombardy region
– Last Visconti ruler died in 1447
– Francesco Sforza conquered
the city and became its new
duke
Was a leader of mercenaries
Built strong centralized state
Created an efficient tax
system- generated enormous
revenues for the government
Venice
Link between Asia and
Western Europe
Republic with a Doge as
leader
– Really ran by small group of
merchant-aristocrats
Traders that became wealthy
through crusades
Ran government affairs for
their own self-interests
Tremendous trading
power and international
economic power
Florence
Region of Tuscany
14th century controlled by
small group of wealthy
merchants that controlled
government
– Led successful wars that
established Florence as a
major city
The Medici Family
– Cosimo de’Medici
1434, took control of city
Controlled government, did not
seek office himself, Dictator of
Florence
Had banks throughout Italy
Wealthiest man in Europe
– Lorenzo de’Medici “ The
Magnificent”
Grandson of Cosimo
Dominated the city, patron of the
Arts
Economic Decline
– Late 1400s
– Increased cloth competition
drove down profits
Renaissance Society
Middle Ages: three
estates or social classes
– Nobility, peasants, and
townspeople
Renaissance
Nobility
– Only 2- 3% of population
– Held important political
posts
– Expected to fulfill certain
ideals
Peasants
– Mass of population, 8590%
– Serfdom declined with end
of Middle Ages and end of
Manorial system
– Labor converted to rent
paid in money
Townspeople
– Merchants and artisans
Society in towns or cities
Patricians
– Top of society
– Wealth from trade,
industry, and banking
– Dominated communities
economically, politically,
and socially
Burghers
– Shopkeepers, artisans,
guild masters, guild
members
– Produce goods and
services
Workers and
Unemployed
– Pitiful wages
– 30-40% of population
– Urban poverty
increased in late 14th
and early 15th century
Family and Marriage
Family bond important
during Renaissance
Marriage
– Arranged by parents
Often to strengthen business
ties
– Most important part of contract
was dowry
Money paid to husband by
wife’s family upon marriage
Center of family
– Father-husband was center of
family
Gave it his name
Managed finances
Made decisions
Father’s Authority
– Absolute
– Children did not reach
“adulthood” until they went
before a judge and they were
formally freed
– Varied between early teens
and late twenties
Humanism
Study of Classical Texts
– Leads to Humanism
Intellectual movements
focused on human potential
and achievements
– Studied Ancient Greek
values, tried to reconcile
them with Christian
teachings
Influenced art and
architects to carry on
classical traditions
– Popularized study of
subjects common to
classical education
Emphasizing individual
ability
– High regard for human
worth
– Well-rounded universal
person
Leonardo da Vinci
–
–
–
–
–
Painter
Sculptor
Architect
Inventor
mathematician
Renaissance Man
Educated men should master
almost every area of study
– Called “universal man”, today
called “renaissance man”
Baldassare Castiglione
(1528)
– The Book of the Courtier by
Baldassare Castiglione
Described characteristics:
have character, talent, skills
of warrior and an education,
follow certain standard of
conduct, aim was to serve
prince in effective and
honest way
Should be charming, witty,
and educated in the
classics
Should sing, dance, play
music, and write poetry
The “Renaissance Man” defined
Leonardo Da Vinci
–
–
–
–
–
Painter
sculptor
inventor
scientist
Best known for
painting the Mona Lisa
and the Last Supper
Writers changing Literature
Petrarch
– One of the earliest and most
influential humanists
– Father Renaissance Humanism
– Great poet, wrote in both Latin
and Italian
– Looked at forgotten Latin
manuscripts, spread Cicero,
Homer, and Virgil
– Typically wrote sonnets (14-lined
poems)
– Used pure classical Latin
Boccaccio
– Wrote Decameron
– Uses cutting humor to illustrate
the human condition
– Presents his characters in all
their individuality and all their folly
Niccolo Machiavelli
Wrote The Prince (1513)
Central thesis
– How to acquire and keep
political power
Ethics
– Middle Ages stressed ethics of
leaders
– Machiavelli said that princes
must understand human
nature, which was self-centered
Political policy should not be
based on moral principles
– Must be strong and shrewd, be
able to trick his enemies and
even own people for the good
of the state
World
– Examines the imperfect
conduct of humans
– Idea that people are selfish,
fickle, and corrupt
– In real world, Prince must
sometime mislead people and
lie to opponents
Machiavelli
Machiavelli saw himself as
an enemy of oppression and
corruption
Critics attacked his cynical
advice and even claimed he
was inspired by the devil
“Machiavellian” came to be a
term used to refer to deceit
in politics
Education in the Renaissance
Humanists believed that
education could dramatically
change human beings
At core were liberal studies
– History, moral philosophy,
rhetoric, letters, poetry,
mathematics, astronomy,
music, physical education
Preparation for life
– Aim was to create not just great
scholars, but complete citizens
– Model for basic education in
Europe until the 20th century
Females
– Some did attend school
– Taught same subjects, as well
as how to ride, dance, sing,
play the lute, and appreciate
poetry
– Did not learn mathematics or
rhetoric
– Religion and morals were most
important for education
“Christian ladies” to become
good wives and mothers
Artistic Renaissance in Italy
Artists sought to imitate
nature
– Wanted people to see the
reality of the objects or events
they were portraying
Developed a new world
perspective
– Human beings became the
focus of attention
New Techniques
– Frescoes
1st masterpieces of
Renaissance were frescoes
painted by Masaccio in
Florence in 15th century
Fresco is a painting done on
fresh, wet plaster with waterbased paints
Looks like the paintings come
alive, created a new realistic
style of painting
Renaissance Art
– New “Renaissance” style was
modified by others
– Two major developments
Stressed technical side of
painting
– Understanding the laws of
perspective
– Organization of outdoor
space and light through
geometry
Investigation of movement and
human anatomy
– Realistic portrayal of the
individual person, especially
the human nude
Artistic Renaissance in Italy
Perspective
– Making distant objects smaller
than those close to the viewer
– Scenes appeared threedimensional
– Used shading to look more
realistic
Women Artists
– Work was secret
– Very few women were
recognized
Architecture
– Rejected Gothic style
– Adopted style of Ancient
Greeks and Romans
– Domes were used often
Artistic Renaissance in Italy
Sculpture
– Donatello
Spent time in Rome
studying sculpture and
architecture
– Copied statues of Greek
and Romans
Famous works include
statue of St. George
Made sculpture more
realistic by carving natural
postures and expressions
that reveal personality
Architecture
– Filippo Brunelleschi
Inspired by classical Rome
Medici’s hired him to design
the San Lorenzo Church in
Florence
Church unlike Medieval and
Gothic offers warmth and
comfort of spiritual needs
Sought to reflect humancentered world
Donatello’s Sculptures
Brunelleschi
Masters of the Renaissance
High Renaissance from 1490
– 1520
– Last stage of Renaissance
painting
Masters
– Leonardo
Wanted to capture the
perfection of nature and the
individual
– Raphael
Famous for Madonna paintings
Tried to achieve an ideal of
beauty far surpassing human
standards
Painted frescoes in Vatican
Palace
– Michelangelo
Accomplished painter,
sculptor, and architect
Painted the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel
– Depicts Biblical history from
Creation to the Flood
– Took four years to complete
Humans with perfect
proportions, beauty = godlike
– Glorified human body
Scupltures: Pieta and David
Raphael
Renaissance in the North
Spread from Italy to the
Low countries
– Belgium, Luxembourg,
and Netherlands
– Invasion of French King
into Italy drove artists and
writers north in 1494 C.E.
Flanders was important
school of art
– Jan van Eyck
One of the 1st to use oil
painting
Imitated nature by
observing and portraying
reality
– Albrecht Durer
Did not decorate ceilings
and walls of churches,
made illustrations
German painter
Visited Italy, copied Italian
laws of perspective
Jan van Eyck
Albrecht Durer
Other Notable Contemporaries
Erasmus
– Christian Humanist
– Wrote The Praise of Folly
– Thought to improve
society, everyone should
read the Bible
Sir Thomas Moore
– Christian Humanist
– Wrote Utopia which
means “no place”
About imaginary land
inhabited by peace-loving
people
William Shakespeare
– English Playwright
– Themes included dramatic
conflict, human flaws, and
human nature
– Famous works include:
Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo
and Juliet, and A
Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Printing Revolution
Johann Gutenberg
reinvented movable
type around 1440
C.E.
Then invented the
printing press
– Machine that pressed
paper against a tray
full of moveable type
Printed completed
Bible in 1455 C.E.
Effects of Printing Revolution
Enabled a printer to
produce hundred of
copies of a single work
Books became cheap,
more people could afford
More books meant more
people could learn how to
read
People began to interpret
the Bible for themselves,
became more critical of
priests and demanded
reforms
Objectives
The student will demonstrate
knowledge of developments
leading to the Renaissance
in Europe in terms of its
impact on Western
Civilization by:
– Identifying the economic
foundations of the Italian
Renaissance
– Sequencing events related to
the rise of Italian city-states and
their political development,
including Machiavelli’s theory
of governing as described in
The Prince
– Citing artistic, literary, and
philosophical creativity, as
contrasted with the medieval
period, including Leonardo da
Vinci, Michelangelo, and
Petrarch
– Comparing the Italian and the
Northern Renaissance, and
citing the contributions of
writers