Unit 1.2A
THE
RENAISSANCE
Part I
The Renaissance
I. Background
A. Renaissance is considered the beginning of
modern European history
B. Renaissance (c. 1300-1600)
1. Occurred first in Italy c. 1300 and lasted
until 1527
2. The Renaissance spread to Northern Europe
around 1450
3. In England, the Renaissance did not begin
until the 16th century and lasted to the very
early 17the century (e.g. Shakespeare)
C. Origins of the concept of a “renaissance”:
19th-century historian Jacob Burckhardt
claimed the Renaissance stood in stark
contrast to the Middle Ages
D. Renaissance culture applied almost
exclusively to the upper classes
1. Upper classes had the luxury of time to
spend learning the classics
2. The peasantry was largely illiterate
3. Working classes and small merchants
were preoccupied with the concerns of
daily life
II. Rise of the Italian city-states
A. Northern cities developed international
trade: Venice, Genoa, and Milan
1. By 1300, signori (despots), or
oligarchies (rule of merchant
aristocracies) controlled all of the
Italian peninsula.
2. Commenda: a contract between a
merchant and “merchant-adventurer”
who agreed to take goods to distant
locations and return with the
proceeds (for 1/3 of the profits)
3. Italy became more urban: it had more
towns and cities with significant
populations than anywhere else in
Europe at this time
Italian CityStates in the
late-15th
century
B. Politics among the Italian City-States
1. Competition among city-states meant
that Italy did not unify politically
a. In effect, an early balance of power
emerged
b. Political disunity eventually led to
the downfall of the city-states in the
late 1400s and early 1500s
2. Condottieri: mercenary generals of
private armies who were hired by citystates for military purposes
Leonardo da
Vinci,
Condotierri,
c. 1476
C. Major city-states and figures
1. Republic of Florence (included Genoa)
a. Center of the Renaissance during the
14th and 15th centuries
b. Dominated by the Medici family
c. Cosimo de Medici (1389-1464): allied
with other powerful
families in Florence
and became the
unofficial ruler of the
republic
d. Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492):
perhaps the greatest patron of the arts
A 15th-century portrait by
Angelo Bronzino
1480, painted terracotta bust
by Verrocchio, 1480
2. Duchy of Milan
a. Ruled by the Sforza family after 1450
b. Milan was a major enemy of Florence
and Venice
c. Peace of Lodi (1454) created a 40-year
period of relative peace
3. Rome, the Papal States: Popes served as
religious & political leaders; controlled
much of central Italy
4. Venice, Venetian Republic
a. Longest lasting of the Italian city-states
b. Greatest maritime power in Italy
5. Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
a. Included southern Italian region of
Naples and the island of Sicily
b. Only Italian city-state to officially have
a “king”
c. Controlled by
France between
1266-1435
d. Controlled by
Spain after
1435
D. Decline of the Italian City-States
1. French invasion of Italy began in 1494.
a. Milan’s despot, Ludovico “the Moor”
invited French King Charles VIII
(1483-1498) to invade Naples, Milan’s
traditional enemy.
b. This was the beginning of foreign
invasions in Italy.
2. Florence
a. When Florence tried to appease France
during its 1494 invasion, it led to the
overthrow of the Medici family
b. Girolamo Savonarola became the unofficial
ruler of Florence between 1494-1498
• Pledged to rid Florence of its decadence
and corruption
• Oversaw a theocracy
• Predicted French invasions
due to the paganism &
moral decay of Florence
(and other states)
• When France was removed
from Italy in 1498, he was
burned at the stake
3. Italy became a battleground in a series of
struggles between Spain and France
-- Spanish fears of a French-Italian
alliance led to its alliance with Venice,
the Papal States and the Holy Roman
Empire
4. Niccolò Machiavelli:
The Prince (1513)
a. Quintessential
political treatise
of the 16th century
b. Observed the political leadership of Cesare
Borgia (son of Pope Alexander VI) who had
ambitions of uniting Italy under his control
c. Stated that politically, “the ends justifies the
means”
d. For rulers, “it is better to be feared
than to be loved
e. Rulers had to be
practical and cunning,
in addition to being
aggressive and ruthless
f. The Prince continued to
influence European
rulers for centuries
5. 1527, Sack of Rome by the armies of
Charles V (who was also king of Spain)
marked the end of Italy’s cultural
dominance
III. Humanism
A. Characteristics
1. Revival of ideas from ancient Rome &
Greece in philosophy, literature, & art
-- Sought to reconcile pagan literature
with Christian thought
2. Individualism
-- Virtú: excellence in one’s pursuits
3. Study of ancient languages
a. Initially, Latin was the focus
b. After the fall of Byzantium, Greek
became a major focus
c. By 1500, all rediscovered Greek and
Roman texts were translated and printed
4. Largely rejected Aristotelian views and
medieval Scholasticism in favor of:
a. Roman authors such as Cicero,
Livy, Virgil, and Quintilian
b. Greek writers such as Plato
c. Early Christian writers, especially
those of the New Testament
-- Predominantly northern Europe
5. Liberal arts educational program:
grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history,
politics, and moral philosophy
6. Civic humanism: education should
prepare leaders who would be active in
civic affairs
-- Prominent humanistic political
leaders included Salutati and Bruni
7. Often, humanism was more secular
and lay dominated
-- Most humanists remained deeply
Christian, in both Italy and
Northern Europe
B. Petrarch (1304-1374): “father of
humanism”
1. Considered the first modern writer
2. Considered the Middle Ages to be the
“dark ages”
3. Perhaps the first to use critical textual
analysis to ancient texts
-- Especially influenced
by Cicero
4. Wrote his most
well-known poetry in
the Italian vernacular
C. Giovanni Boccacio (1313-1375)
1. Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman
mythology
2. Decameron is his most famous work
a. 100 tales provide social commentary
on 14th-century Italy
b. Sought to impart
wisdom of human
character and
behavior
D. Leonardo Bruni (1370-1444)
1. First to use the term “humanism”
2. Among the most important civic
humanists
3. Wrote perhaps the first modern history
E. Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457)
1. Foremost expert on the Latin language:
Elegances of the Latin Language, 1444
2. On the False Donation of Constantine, 1444
a. Exposed the Donation of Constantine
as an 8th-century fraud
b. The Church had claimed it had been
granted vast territories by the 4thcentury Roman emperor,
Constantine
3. He also exposed errors in
the Latin Vulgate, the
official Catholic Bible
F. Marsilio Ficino: Platonic Academy
1. One of most influential humanist
philosophers of the 15th century
2. Founded the Platonic Academy at the
behest of Cosimo de Medici, 1460s
-- Resulted in the spread of Plato’s
works throughout much of Europe
3. Translated Plato’s work
into Latin, giving modern
Europeans access to
these works for the first
time
G. Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494)
1. Member of the Platonic Academy
2. Oration on the Dignity of Man, 1486
a. Perhaps the most famous Renaissance
work on the nature of mankind
b. Humans were created by God and
therefore given tremendous potential for
greatness
c. Humans had free will to
be great or to fail
H. Machiavelli
1. Secular ideas and emphasis on individualism
reflected humanist philosophy
2. Studied classical history thoroughly
I. Baldassare Castiglione (1478- 1529) -Book of the Courtier, 1528
1. Perhaps most important Renaissance
work on social etiquette
2. Specified qualities
necessary to be a true
gentlemen
3. Ideal of the “Renaissance
Man”
I. Johann Gutenburg (c. 1395-1468):
printing press
1. One of the most important inventions in
human history
2. Development of moveable type made
possible the spread of humanistic
literature at an astonishing speed
3. No longer would copies of works need to
be done individually by hand
4. 1457-58: published the first printed Bible
in the city of Mainz
5. Facilitated the spread of the Reformation
This is one of
48 complete
Gutenburg
Bibles still in
existence. It is
housed at the
Library of
Congress in
Washington,
D.C.
The Diffusion of
the Moveable
Type Printing
Press
IV. Renaissance Art
A. Patronage
1. Florence was the leader in the 15th
century (“Quattrocento”)
a. Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574): The
Lives of the Artists
• Provides much valuable
information about the artists and
their works
b. Massive patronage for the arts came
from wealthy merchant families
(e.g. Medicis)
c. Patronage also came from local
churches.
2. Rome became the artistic center in the
cinquecento (1500s)
a. Decline of Florence in late 1400s
resulted in a shift to Rome
b. Pope Alexander VI (r. 1492-1503)
spent huge sums on patronage
c. Notable works commissioned by the
Church in this period include:
• Michelangelo’s dome atop St.
Peter’s Basilica, his paintings on
the Sistine Chapel, and the Pieta
• Raphael’s School of Athens
• Bramante’s Tempietto and façade
of St. Peter’s Basilica
B. New artistic techniques
1. Painting
a. Perspective: Three-dimensional
effects on a two-dimensional surface
-- Medieval works, in contrast,
looked flat
and twodimensional
This 12th century illuminated
manuscript illustrates the
flat perspective of medieval
painting.
This late-15th century
Russian painting
using tempera on
wood illustrates the
two-dimensional and
symbolic aspect of
medieval art.
This medieval image
of the Crucifixion is
meant to be
emotional and
symbolic, not exact in
its portrayal of the
human body or the
relative size of the
figure with the cup.
This Renaissance work
by Masaccio,
The Trinity, (1425),
demonstrates an
emphasis on
perspective .
b. chiaroscuro: the use of dark and light
colors to create the illusion of depth.
Giotto, The Mourning
of Christ. Giotto is
considered to be the
first painter of the
Renaissance. Notice
his use of chiaroscuro
to make the robes
worn by the figures
look realistic. His use
of perspective among
the various persons in
the painting is more
convincing than
typical medieval
works.
c. Faces of subjects expressed unique
individual characteristics (embodying the
Renaissance ideal of individualism)
• Renaissance subjects typically showed more
emotion.
• Medieval paintings
were more stylized
(i.e. generic) in their
portrayal of individuals
The woman portrayed on the right is
one of several figures in Sandro
Botticelli’s Primavera. Notice his use
of chiaroscuro around the jawline to
provide depth and his attention to
detail regarding the figure’s facial
features.
d. Sfumato: Leonardo da Vinci developed a
“smoky” effect in his paintings by blurring or
softening sharp lines
One of the most famous
paintings in all of world history,
Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (La
Gioconde), painted between
1503-1506, demonstrates his
use of sfumato to create a smoky
effect in the painting as well as
blurred lines on the subject’s
face.
2. Sculpture
a. Medieval sculpture often appeared on
buildings and tombs, were highly
detailed, and did not glorify the
human body.
-- They were relief
sculptures
A 14th century
gothic tomb
These four sculptures
adorn Chartes
Cathedral in France.
Their detail and high
relief are indicative of
the Gothic style.
A Gothic sculpture
of the Crucifixion.
at St. Vierge.
Notice that Christ
is in the highest
relief from the
surface as he is
clearly the most
important figure.
b. Renaissance sculpture was often freestanding, designed to be seen “in the
round”
• Renaissance sculptors were highly
influenced by
ancient Greek
and Roman
statuary
Discobolus: a Roman copy
(140 CE) of an earlier
Greek statue
Venus de Milo
7 feet in height, 2nd century
BCE
Farnese Hercules, a
3rd century C.E. copy
of an ancient Greek
statue c. 4th century
B.C.E. The Greeks
glorified the human
body, a style that
influenced the
Romans and later, the
artists of the
Renaissance.
Augustus Prima Porta: a
1st century C.E. statue
of Emperor Augustus
Donatello’s David
(c. 1440) became
the first bronze
statue created in
Europe since
antiquity. Notice
the statue’s
contrapposto
stance.
Michelangelo’s
David (15011504) bears many
of the same
qualities as
ancient Greek
statuary: use of
marble,
glorification of
the human body,
and contrapposto
stance.
3. Architecture
a. Medieval architecture was characterized
by the highly ornamented Gothic style
Gothic
Cathedral in
Cologne,
Germany
Gothic Cathedral in Milan, Italy
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris,
12th to 14th centuries.
Chartres Cathedral, France
b. Renaissance architecture utilized
ancient Greek and Roman forms such
as Greek temple architecture (with
triangular pediments) columns, and
Roman arches and domes (e.g.
Pantheon in Rome)
c. Emphasized simplicity, symmetry, and
balance
The Pantheon in
Rome
The Parthenon, Athens, 438 B.C.E.
Replica of the Parthenon, Nashville,
Tennessee, 1920s
The Parthenon stands as a quintessential example of Greek
temple architecture.
Roman Architecture
A Roman aqueduct in modern France demonstrates the
Roman innovation of the arch in order to support great
weight.
The Colosseum in Rome
The Colosseum, known most famously for its gladiator fights,
contains dozens of arches in its design.
The Pantheon, 125-28 CE, Rome, Italy
The Pantheon contains Greek characteristics such as the
triangular pediment, columns, and a dome.
The Pantheon
St. Peter’s Basilica
Redesigned in the 16th century by prominent Renaissance artists/architects, St.
Peter’s contains strong elements of Greek temple architecture and Roman arches,
and its Roman-inspired dome is the largest in Europe.
C. Florentine Renaissance artists
1. Giotto (1266-1336): considered perhaps
the first Renaissance artist with his use
of chiaroscuro and use of perspective
Giotto:
“Flight Into
Egypt,”
1305
Giotto:, The Ognissanti
Madonna, c. 1310. The
use of chiaroscuro and
perspective foreshadows
the Renaissance yet the
stylized faces and
somewhat flat appearance
illustrates the medieval
style.
2. Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)
a. Il Duomo atop Santa Maria del Fiore is
his masterpiece
b. He is considered the “father” of
perspective
Il Duomo ,
completed in 1434,
was the largest
dome in the world
at the time of its
construction
Brunelleschi:
San Miniato
al Monte,
Florence,
1470
3. Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472)
a. Architect of several cathedrals
b. He wrote the first treatise on
perspective
Tempio Malatestiano, Rimini
4. Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) – sculptor
a. Won a famous contest in 1403 against
Brunelleschi that earned him a
commission for the gold doors on the
Florentine baptistery
b. His two sets of bronze doors (1424 and
1452) are a masterpiece of sculpture
-- Michelangelo called his second set of
doors “the gates of paradise”
Both Ghiberti and Brunelleschi (as well as several others) were
asked to “try out” for the commission of the doors on one side of
the baptistery. Each artist had to submit a panel illustrating the
“sacrifice of Isaac.”
The winner. Isaac’s body
looked more humanistic
2nd Place. “Close, but no
cigar.”
East Door,
Baptistery,
Florence
This door
is famous
for its 28
panels
The “Story of Joseph,” a panel
from the second set of doors
Ghiberti: Self Portrait
6. Masaccio (1401-1428) -- painter
a. Perhaps the first
Renaissance painter
to portray real,
nude human figures
in 3-D.
b. The Expulsion of
Adam and Eve
(1427), a fresco,
shows tremendous
emotion
“The Expulsion of
Adam and Eve”
7. Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510) – painter:
Birth of Venus, 1485-86
a. Painting is a good example of
humanism as the subject is Venus, the
Roman god of love.
b. Venus stands in contrapposto, with more
weight on one leg than the other. This
technique was used frequently in
ancient Greek and Roman
statuary.
Self-portrait of
Botticelli in
Adoration of the
Magi, 1475
The Birth of Venus, c. 1485
Sandro Botticelli: La Primavera, 1485
D. The “High Renaissance”: centered in
Rome c.1500-1527
1. The worldly Renaissance popes
provided massive patronage:
Alexander VI (1492-1503); Julius II
(1503-1513); and Leo X (1513-1521)
2. Characteristics: classical balance,
harmony, restraint
3. Bramante (1444-1510) – architect
a. His Tempietto (San Pietro in Montorio)
marked the beginning of the High
Renaissance in Rome (1502) when
Alexander VI appointed him to build
a sanctuary that allegedly marked the
spot where Peter was crucified
b. Principal architect of the rebuilt St.
Peter’s Basilica (although some of his
plans were later altered by
Michelangelo)
Donato Bramante’s Tempietto in the courtyard of San Pietro in
Montorio is considered one of the architectural masterpieces of
the High Renaissance
St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican 1546-1564
4. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
a. Considered the quintessential
“renaissance man”
-- Painter, sculptor, architect,
engineer, writer, scientist
b. Mona Lisa (see above)
c. The Last Supper, (1498)
SelfPortrait,
1512
Leonardo da Vinci: The Last Supper
1498, Tempera on plaster 460x880cm
Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Refectory), Milan
Leonardo:
Vitruvian
Man (Study
of
Proportions)
Leonardo
was also
known for his
detailed
studies of
human
anatomy.
5. Raphael Santi (1483-1520) – painter
a. Created many numerous “Madonna
and Child” paintings
Sistine Madonna,
1512. The painting
was commissioned
by Pope Julius II as
an altarpiece for the
church of San Sisto,
Piacenza.
b. School of Athens, 1509:
quintessential example of humanism
in painting
• Greco-Roman architecture is
prominent
• Plato and Aristotle are in the center
of the painting (while numerous
thinkers, scientists, and
mathematicians are included
throughout the work)
• Sculptures are nude and in
contrapposto stance
School of Athens,
detail 1:
Plato and
Aristotle
School of Athens,
detail 2: Heraclitus
(played by
Michelangelo)
School of
Athens,
detail 3:
Euclid
(center),
Ptolemy
(back facing
viewer),
Zoroaster
(white robe)
School of
Athens,
detail 4:
Pythagoras
(with book),
Averroes
(white head
gear),
Parmenides
(orange
robe)
School of Athens, detail 5: Zoroaster, Ptolemy,
Raphael and Sodoma
School of Athens,
detail 6
Raphael:
Madonna of the
Chair
This is perhaps
the most widely
copied painting
in the world.
6. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
a. The Sistine Chapel, 1508-1512
The Sistine
Chapel,
Vatican. The
ceiling seen
in relation to
the other
frescoes on
the walls.
The
Sistine
Chapel,
Vatican
Sistine
Chapel
Sistine
Chapel
“The Creation of Adam”
Sistine Chapel ceiling
b. Sculpture
• David, (1501-04): marble
humanistic sculpture glorifies the
human body in contrapposto stance
while facial
features are
individualistic
The Three Davids
Donatello,
15th century
Michelangelo,
16th century
Bernini, 17th century
• Pieta, 1499
b. Architecture: Michelangelo designed
the dome atop St. Peter’s Basilica
E. The Venetian School
1. Titian (c. 1485-1576)
a. Perhaps the greatest painter of the
Venetian school
b. Use of vivid color and movement, in
contrast to more subtle colors and
static figures of the Florentine
style
Titian,
The Pesaro Madonna,
1519-1526
Titian: Tarquin
and Lucretia, c.
1571.
The use of
dramatic
action and
color effects
points toward
the Baroque
style.
F. Mannerism
1. Characteristics
a. Reaction against the Renaissance
ideas of balance, symmetry, and
realistic use of color
b. Use of vivid color and movement, in
contrast to more subtle colors and
static figures of the Florentine
style
2. El Greco (1541-1614)
a. Greek artist who did his most
important work in Spain
b. Perhaps the greatest of the
Mannerists with his use of
elongated figures and unnatural,
acidic colors
c. Burial of Count Orgaz (1586-88) and
Toledo (1597) are two important
examples of his work
El Greco:
Burial of
Count Orgaz,
1586
El Greco:
Toledo,
1597
El Greco: The
opening of the
Fifth Seal of the
Apocalypse, c.
1608-14