The Renaissance brought many changes to Europe:
People moved from the countryside to towns.
The Middle Ages was dominated by religious beliefs and
fears of eternal punishment.
Renaissance was a more worldly age
Middle Ages – church dominated art
Renaissance – art focused on nature and humans
Middle Ages – learning focused on religion & the
relationship between man and God
Renaissance – focus on Greek and Roman classics
Setting the Stage
European Crusaders returning from the Middle East
spurred a desire for the luxuries of the east – silk, pepper,
and spices. The center of trade shifted from the Middle East
to Italy.
Arab scholars had preserved the writings of ancient Greeks
in their libraries and when the Byzantine Empire fell, many
scholars left for Italy. The extra wealth of Italian citystates like Florence, allowed the revival of learning and art
that came with the Renaissance.
Setting the Stage
Black Death (plague) had killed over half the
population in Italy.
The plague attacked those living in the close quarters in
the city. Only those with money were able to move to the
country to avoid the disease
This caused many to be angry when the church claimed
the plague was God’s will (although many clergy died).
The church refused to promote hygiene because it
distracted from worship. This could have prevented many
deaths.
The Renaissance
The Renaissance began in Italy about 1300, nearly
200 years before the rest of Europe. The word
renaissance is French for “rebirth”. What was
reborn? Greek and Roman art and ideas were
rediscovered, studied, and used by people of the
Renaissance.
Scholars of the Renaissance were called secular
humanists because they concentrated on examining
the thoughts and actions of human beings. Art and
literature focused more on human life, not just
religion.
Secular – not religious
Humanism – study and progress
of human nature at
the center of interests.
Humanism
•3 main Greek & Roman ideas:
•Improvement through study and
reflection
•Commitment to public service
•Life long learning (Well - Rounded)
The Humanities And Education
As the study of humanism became popular in Italy
in the mid 1300s, humanist teachers began to
replace the clergy as the main source of education
in Italy. These humanists opened schools, where
they taught the children of wealthy families to
value the works and traditions of classic Rome
and Greece.
These teachers encouraged people to write in their
own languages, (vernacular) instead of in only
Latin and Greek. As a result, literary works
became available to the masses of people who did
not speak these old languages. New and important
literary works were published in the languages of
the people,
helping to spread ideas throughout
Europe more quickly.
The ideal man or woman of the Renaissance had to excel in
many areas.
Such a person, for example, should:
know many of the great Greek and Latin writings; be
charming, polite, and witty;
be physically fit, good on horseback and with a sword
(especially men);
be able to dance, play an instrument or sing,
and write poetry.
People of the Renaissance focused more on
individual accomplishments, learning, and
enjoying the luxuries of life.
By the early 1500’s, European trade had begun to
shift from the Mediterranean Sea to Amsterdam and
other ports of Northern Europe. Artists like
Albrecht Durer, a German, carried Renaissance
styles and ideas back to his homeland.
This encouraged the spread of Renaissance ideas to
Northern Europe, starting the so-called “Northern
Renaissance”. Jan van Eyck was another notable
Northern Renaissance artist whose realism and detail
stand out. Outside Italy, the Renaissance period
lasted until around 1600.
CHANGES IN ART
Wealthy merchants and
bankers encouraged a rebirth
of art by supporting artists.
A supporter of the arts is
known as a patron of the
arts.
Artists could then study and
create art as their profession.
Lorenzo Medici
Many Renaissance artists
painted frescos They did this
by painting on wet plaster
(basically cement) walls.
The paint would dry “into”
the plaster, allowing the
paintings to last for
centuries.
Of course, Renaissance
artists got the idea from
the Greeks and Romans
Two early artists, Giotto and Massacio helped
bring about the change from painting flat, stifflooking forms that had been typical in the Middle
Ages to the Renaissance style of painting humans
to look realistic and lifelike.
What Giotto and Massacio did
for painting, the artist Donatello
did for sculpture.
Donatello created
realistic, freestanding
statues that borrowed
from the Roman and
Greek style.