Intellectual and Artistic
Renaissance
Humanism

Study of Classical Texts





Leads to Humanism
Intellectual 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




History
Literature
Philosophy (called Humanities)
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 Courtier


“Let the man we are seeking be very bold, stern, and
always among the first, where the enemy are to be seen;
and every other place, gentle, modest, reserved, above
all things avoiding ostentation and that impudent selfpraise by which men ever excite hatred and disgust in all
who hear them….”
“I would have him more than passably accomplished in
letters, at least in those studies that are called the
humanities, and conversant not only with the Latin
language but with Greek, for the sake of many different
things that have been admirebly written therein. Let him
be well versed in the poets, and not less in the orators
and historians, and also proficient in writing verse and
prose.”
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

Dante





Petrarch







Medieval writer
Influences Renaissance by writing in the vernacular, or native language.
(Italian)
Story of the soul’s journey to salvation, goes through three realms of
Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise
(another Vernacular writer is Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales)
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
Literature

Geoffrey Chaucer




Wrote Canterbury Tales
Collection of stories about 29 pilgrims on their way to
Thomas a Becket’s tomb
Portrayed all of society
Christine de Pizan




Frenchwoman
Wrote The Book of the City of Ladies
Wrote in defense of women
Argued Women should be allowed to go to school
Niccolo Machiavelli


Wrote The Prince (1513)
Central thesis


Ethics





How to acquire and keep political power
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
The Prince
“From this arises the question whether it is better to be
loved more than feared, or feared more than loved.
The reply is, that one ought to be both feared and
loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it
is much safer to be feared than loved, if one of the two
has to be wanting. For it may be said of men in
general that they are ungrateful, voluble, dissemblers,
anxious to avoid danger, and covetous of gain; as long
as you benefit them, they are entirely yours; they offer
you their blood, their goods, their life, and their
children, as I have before said, when the necessity is
remote; but when it approaches, they revolt. And the
prince who has relied solely on their words, without
making preparations, is ruined.”
Education in the Renaissance


Humanists believed that education could dramatically
change human beings
At core were liberal studies


Preparation for life



History, moral philosophy, rhetoric, letters, poetry, mathematics,
astronomy, music, physical education
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 water-based paints
Looks like the paintings come alive, created a new realistic style of painting
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
Frescoes
Artistic Renaissance in Italy

Perspective




Women Artists



Making distant objects smaller than those close to the
viewer
Scenes appeared three-dimensional
Used shading to look more realistic
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 human-centered world
Donatello’s Sculptures
Brunelleschi
Masters of the Renaissance

High Renaissance from 1490 – 1520


Last stage of Renaissance painting
Masters

Leonardo


Raphael




Wanted to capture the perfection of nature and the individual
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



Humans with perfect proportions, beauty = godlike


Depicts Biblical history from Creation to the Flood
Took four years to complete
Glorified human body
Scupltures: Pieta and David
Raphael
Michelangelo
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.
Did not decorate ceilings and walls of churches, made
illustrations
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


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

William Shakespeare




Sir Thomas Moore


Christian Humanist
Wrote Utopia which means
“no place”

About imaginary land inhabited
by peace-loving people
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