Chapter Twelve
The resurgence of classical culture and the rise of a new humanism

• When was the Renaissance?
– Jules Michelet
– Jakob Burkhardt
– Charles Homer Haskins
• Florentine Renaissance characteristics
– Artist as individual seeking fame
– New artistic realism
– New growth in economics/trade
– Florentine banking and commerce
– Humanism as outgrowth of Classical learning
– Advancement of self and society through intellectual efforts

• Aldus Manutius (1449-1525)
– Humanists collated and corrected manuscripts
– Vast scope of Greek, Latin, vernacular texts
• Johann Gutenberg (c. 1395-1468)
• Print technology and the diffusion of ideas
– 6-9 million books, 13,000 editions before 1500

• Synthesis of all learning yields truth
– Student of languages and cultures
• Oration on the Dignity of Man
– Man bridges gap between heaven and creation
– Humanity is a great miracle

Two Styles of Humanism:
(1469-1527)
• The Prince
– Secular study of political theory
– Inspired by Republican Rome
• Realistic pragmatism
– Success in governing is key to power
– Wisdom and ruthlessness
– Christianity’s role in politics is disastrous
• “The end justifies the means”

The First Phase:
Masaccio, Ghiberti, and Brunelleschi
• Florentine “representative” government
– Arti , senior guilds
• Wool trade
• Banking, banking families
– Stable monetary system
• Revolutionary Florentine art
– Renaissance

The First Phase:
Masaccio, Ghiberti, and Brunelleschi
• Characteristics of artistic change
• Gentile da Fabriano
(c. 1385-1427)
– Adoration of the Magi (1423)
– Conservative International Gothic style
• Tommaso Guidi, aka Masaccio
(1401-1428)
– The Holy Trinity (c. 1428)
– Clarity of line, perspective, realism, psychology

10 th Century Russian Icon (left) and
14 th Century Florentine Passion (right)

Medieval Art in the
International
Style
Note the bright colors, crowded composition, and rounded figures
No single-point perspective

1.
a concern with, and technical ability to handle, space and volume in a believable way
2.
studious approach to model art from that of ancient Rome
3.
departure from more ethereal mode of medieval otherworldliness to a greater concern for human realism
This is achieved through:
1.
clarity of line
2.
mathematically precise perspective
3.
close observation of real people
4.
concern for psychological states
5.
uncluttered arrangements —artist doesn’t fill up all available space

The First Phase:
Masaccio, Ghiberti, and Brunelleschi
• Masaccio
– Realistic depiction of human beings
• The Tribute Money (c. 1427)
– Profound sense of emotion
• Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden (c.
1425)
– “…brought into existence the modern style”

The First Phase:
Masaccio, Ghiberti, and Brunelleschi
• Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455)
– Florence Baptistery, North Door competition
– Sentiment, mathematical perspective
– East Doors = “Gates of Paradise”
• Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1466)
– Renaissance architecture
– Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore
– Gothic + Classical Roman influences

The First Phase:
Masaccio, Ghiberti, and Brunelleschi
• Foundling Hospital, Pazzi Chapel
– Classical order
– Intricate mathematical proportions
– Serenity
• Florentine Renaissance style
– Space, ancient models, human realism
– Reaffirmation of Classical ideals

Florence Cathedral combines Gothic buttressing with Roman dome

Brunelleschi’s austere
Foundling Hospital

Brunelleschi’s Renaissance
Pazzi Chapel
Ancient Rome’s Pantheon

• Medici rule of Florence: 1434-1492
• Immense banking fortune
– Branch banks throughout Western Europe
• Extensive geographic, sociological influence
– Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride (1434)

The Medici Era:
(1434-1464)
• Ancient manuscripts
• Greek language, philosophy
• Platonic Academy
– Search for truth and beauty
• Marsilio Ficino
– Platonic Love, Christian Platonism
• Pater Patriae
– Patron of the arts

The Medici Era:
(1434-1464)
• Donatello (1386-1466)
– Saint George, David, Mary Magdalene
• Michelozzo (1396-1472)
– Convent of San Marco
• Fra Angelico (1387-1455)
– Annunciation fresco
• Paolo Uccello (1397-1475)
– Medici Palace paintings

The Medici Era:
• Ruled Florence from 1464-1469
• Continued Cosimo’s patronages
– Religious and civil art and architecture
• Medici and the theme of the Magi
– Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510)
– Benozzo Gozzoli (1420-1495)

The Medici Era:
• Accomplished vernacular poet
• Ficino, Botticelli, Michelangelo
• Laurentian patronage of learning
– University of Pisa
– The Stadium of Florence
– Greek as export from Florence

The Medici Era:
• Botticelli (1444-1510)
– La Primavera (Springtime), The Birth of Venus
– Platonic idealism, Christian mysticism
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
– Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Madonna of the
Rocks
– Notebooks
– Mathematics, natural world and humanity, love for beauty

Botticelli’s Birth of Venus ; modeled on Greek and Roman statues

1. He was a master painter
2. He was a keen scientist, mastering fields of geology, botany, and anatomy
3. He was a master engineer, designing airplanes and helicopters
4. He was a master mathematician

From left to right:
An underwater breathing machine; detailed studies of human anatomy; an artificial wing for human flight
(strap it on and jump off a cliff! [don’t try this at home])

Leonardo’s “The Last Supper”
Note the mathematical precision

The Medici Era:
• Michelangelo Buonarroti (1476-1564)
– Cameo carving: Madonna of the Stairs
– Pietá
• Michelangelo’s David
– Statement of idealized beauty
– Palazzo Vecchio: symbol of civic power

• Next class, chapter 13: Popes and
Patronage
• Cellini’s “Autobiography.”

The Medici Era:
• Fra Savonarola (1452-1498)
– Dominican preacher, reformer
– Laurentian Florence vs. Medieval Piety
– Inspired many converts
– Defied papal excommunication, died publicly

• Humanist education
– Aristocratic families
– Families who saw education as priority
– Rise of printing / accessibility of books
• Woman writers
– Upper-class culture
– Convent life
• Women criticized for not following traditional societal roles

Two Styles of Humanism:
(1466-1536)
• Wandering scholar, author
• Christian Humanism
– Classical learning + Christian living
• The Praise of Folly (1509)
– Attacked religious corruption
– Sweeping social criticism
– Outsold only by the Bible in the 16th century

• Guillaume Dufay (c. 1400-1474)
– Secularization of the motet, Chanson masses
– Synthesis of secular and religious
• Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1430-1495)
– Classical balance of intellect and emotion
• Music in Medici Florence
– No Classical models
– Platonic and Aristotelian significance
– Frittola , canto carnascialesco

Chapter Twelve: Discussion Questions
• Consider the role of art in Florentine politics. In what ways does artistic patronage serve as a vehicle for state propaganda? Explain, including principal discussions of the socio-religious works of Gozzoli and
Michelangelo.
• Contrast the medieval worldview with that of the Renaissance. What was the role of the individual during the Middle Ages? During the
Renaissance? What was the role of the artist in each period? To what may we attribute the shift in perspective? Explain.
• Citing specific artwork from Chapter Twelve, explore the artistic balance between Classical and Christian prerogatives. Which of the artists in the chapter had the most success balancing and/or synthesizing the two ideologies?
• Compare the two styles of Humanism exemplified by Erasmus and
Machiavelli. What variation on the theme does each provide? Consider the roles of Classicism and Christianity in their respective approaches.