The Renaissance In Italy

What is the Renaissance?
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The word Renaissance means “Rebirth.”
During the Middle
Ages, people had lived lives centered around their villages or towns.
Their lives were based around the Catholic
Church.

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What Changed During the
Renaissance?
The Renaissance began around 1300 and reached its peak around 1500.
The Renaissance marked the transition from the medieval world to the
modern world.
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During the Middle Ages, scholars focused on religion . Renaissance thinkers focused on this lifetime and the experience of being human.
Interest was reawakened in the Greek and Roman
writings and learning.
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This movement was called humanism . These new thinkers focused on a variety of topics.

The Renaissance Starts in Italy
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Italy had the remains of
Ancient Rome.
Italy was on the
Mediterranean and in an ideal place for trading.
The Roman Catholic
Church was based in
Italy.
Italy was divided into
city states.

Patrons and Powerful Families
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City states were ruled by powerful families and a strong merchant class.
The Medici family of
Florence was the most famous of these.
These families served as
patrons of the arts.
That means they gave
money to artists.

Renaissance Art Flourishes
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Many artists were supported by powerful patrons.
They more topics than just
religious themes.
Artists made realistic artwork and used perspective.
Perspective means making close items larger than far items to make it seem realistic.
Artists also used shading and
correct anatomy.

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Leonardo da Vinci
He was the ultimate
Renaissance man.
He was a painter and
engineer.
He created famous paintings and also created inventions.
He was known for his curiosity and ingenuity.
He learned about human anatomy by dissecting
cadavers.

The Last Supper

The Mona
Lisa

The Notebooks of
Leonardo

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Michelangelo
He was a sculptor, engineer, painter, architect, and poet.
He created marble masterpieces and painted the
Sistine Chapel.
He also created the design for the dome of St. Peter’s
Cathedral.

David

The Pieta

The Sistine Chapel

The Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica

Rafael, the School of Athens

The Renaissance Spreads to the
Rest of Europe

The Printing Revolution
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During the Middle Ages, books were copied by scribes and monks by hand.
Around 1455, a German named
Johann Gutenberg created the first moveable type
printing press.
This made books much more common and much more
accessible to the people.

The Printing Press

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Sir Thomas More’s Utopia
Thomas More was an
English writer.
He wrote a book about a perfect society called
“Utopia” where everyone is equal and everyone lives in peace and harmony.
We still use the word utopia to describe a perfect world or society.

William Shakespeare
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Shakespeare was the most important literary writer during the Renaissance.
He wrote 37 plays that are still performed today.
He also greatly
enriched the English language.