Renaissance Review
The Renaissance: The rebirth of learning, art, & literature which
focused on the “Classics” (works from Greece and Rome)
Where did the Renaissance start? It started in Italy and moved north
into Europe (known as the
Northern Renaissance)
Why did the Renaissance start
in Italy? Italy was very wealthy
from trading with Muslim Empires
and the Far East.
Patron: A wealthy person who
pays for an artist’s work. The de
Medici family was the wealthiest
patron family in Italy.
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Leonardo da Vinci:
 Artist (Mona Lisa, The Last Supper)
 Inventor (helicopter, tank, submarine)
 Fresco: mural on a wall
 Wrote his notes backwards so no one
could read them.
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Michelangelo:
 Sculptor (The David)
 Artist (the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel, The Creation of Adam)
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Johannes Gutenberg:
 Invented the moveable type printing press
 Known for the Gutenberg Bible (printed 200
copies)
 Allowed for books to be copied quickly (used
to be done by hand by monks) and cheaply
Gutenberg Bible
William Shakespeare:
 English playwright (Romeo & Juliet, Othello,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
 Sonnets (poems)
 Wrote in the vernacular (every day
language)
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Desiderius Erasmus:
 Humanist
 Humanism: A system of values and beliefs
that is based on the idea that people are
basically good and that problems can be
solved using reason instead of religion
 Focused on the secular (worldly, not religious)
aspects of life
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