The Early Renaissance
Return to Classical Roots, 1400-1494
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Ready for Rebirth
Speaking broadly, the West emerged from “the
calamitous 14th century” poised for a real rebirth:
Feudal/manorial system starting to crumble; new governmental
structures starting to emerge
Authority of Church called into question; place of man, roles of
faith/reason being re-evaluated
New self-assertiveness in architecture/sculpture
Individual voice starting to be heard in literature (Dante, Petrarch,
Boccaccio, Chaucer)
New treatment of nature/human emotion appears in art (Giotto)
Technology opens age of exploration
The Western World is ready to move in a new
direction…and it starts in Italy.
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Stages of the Italian Renaissance
Early Renaissance: 1400-1494
High Renaissance: 1494-1520
Late Renaissance: 1520-1600
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The Renaissance: Schools of
Interpretation
Historian Jacob Burckhardt, 1860s: Renaissance a
rebirth of ancient ideas and ideals after centuries
of cultural stagnation
Mid 20th-century historians: a shift in educational
and cultural emphasis rather than a rediscovery of
antiquity
Third interpretation since 1960s: Renaissance
label only describes what was occurring in
learning and arts, not politics and society
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The Renaissance: Key Questions
Chronology: Overlap on both sides, with Late
Middle Ages, Early Modern period, Reformation
Meaning: Cultural renaissances common in
history (Egypt, Hellenistic Greece, Augustan
Rome, “Carolingian Renaissance,” Ottonian
renaissance/Pope Gregory VII)
Impetus: Much in place in Middle Ages
(accomplished scholars, university system, arts
faculties, new artistic ideas, revival of Aristotle)
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What Took So Long?
Depended on cumulative growth and spread of wealth
never before seen in world history
Manpower issues (Decline of slavery, spread of manorial system,
famine, Back Death produced labor scarcity)
Innovation (wheelbarrow, horse collars, animal breeding, axle,
water-mill, wind-mill, sail power --cog/caravel
Increased trade and ancillary service (insurance/ banking)
Concentration of wealth in cities (Low Countries, Rhine, Northern
and Central Italy)
Rise of intermediate technologies
Development of printing (first efficient, pan-European industry)
Italy at center of these developments
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Early Renaissance:
History and Institutions
Italian City-States During the Early
Renaissance
Florence, the Center of the Renaissance
The Resurgent Papacy, 1450-1500
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Italian City States During the Early
Renaissance
This map shows the
states and
principalities of Italy
in the Early
Renaissance. Note (1)
the relatively large
number of states in the
north compared to
those in the south and
(2) the four forms of
government of various
states – duchy,
republic, kingdom,
and papal states.
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Italian City States During the Early
Renaissance
General move from strength to relative weakness
Gradually eclipsed by nations to North as
commercial/woolens manufacturing center
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•
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Black Death reduced population, productivity, prosperity
Rise of British woolens industry
Rise of German banking
Incessant warfare (Venice, Milan, Florence, Papal States
Naples)
• Emergence of signori/decline of business, guild, and middleclass influence
Positive: Development of diplomacy
• Peace of Lodi (1454-1494); Milan-Florence-Venice
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Italian City States During the Early
Renaissance
Shift in balance of power further driven by:
Fall of Constantinople (1453)
Portugal’s opening of sea route to India (end of
century)
Columbus’s journey to New World (1492)
French invasion of Italy (1494)
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Italian City States During the Early
Renaissance
But in midst of broad decline, a moment of glory
in ideas and the arts – the Italian Renaissance –
driven by:
Powerful families
The resurgent Church
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Florence, the Center of the
Renaissance
Republic > Oligarchy > Family rule
Medici Family played central role from 1434-1494:
Giovanni > Cosimo > Piero > Lorenzo
Medici family driven out by:
• French invasion (1494)
• Savanarola
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Savanarola
Girolamo Savonarola was a Dominican priest and
leader of Florence from 1494 until his execution in
1498. He was known for his book burning, destruction
of what he considered immoral art, and hostility to the
Renaissance. He vehemently preached against the moral
corruption of much of the clergy at the time. Hiss main
opponent was Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia).
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The Resurgent Papacy, 1450-1500
Great Schism ended by Council of
Constance (1418)
Renaissance Popes
Nicholas V (1447-55); Vatican Library
Pius II (1458-64); New learning
Sixtus IV (1471-84); Sistine Chapel
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The Spirit and Style of the Early
Renaissance
Key Questions:
What is human nature?
What is relation between human and divine?
What is the best way to achieve human
happiness?
Sources
Greco-Roman tradition
14th century predecessors (Petrarch, Giotto,
etc.)
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Humanism, Scholarship, and
Schooling
Humanistic studies (moral philosophy,
history, rhetoric, grammar, poetry)
Textual criticism (Valla/Donation of
Constantine)
Bruni: History of the Florentine People
(history illuminates contemporary events)
Vittorino da Feltre: Educational reforms
based on Greek schools: physical exercise,
solid learning, and moral training
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Thought and Philosophy
Concept of individual worth
Move beyond Dogma/Scholasticism
Marsilio Ficino: Neo-Platonism
Pico della Mirandola: Oration on the Dignity of
Man
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Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting
Artistic Ideals and Innovations
Break with Late Gothic style
Quest for Classical harmony
Architecture: Brunelleschi, Alberti
Sculpture: Donatello, Ghiberti
Painting: Masaccio, Botticelli, da Vinci,
Bellini
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Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting
Artistic Ideals and Innovations
Architecture : Classical concepts of Dignity,
balance, simplicity, control, restraint,
mathematical harmony (Alberti)
Sculpture : Realism/Classical forms
(Donatello’s freestanding figure, contrapposto;
life-size nude, equestrian statue)
Painting: Various influences (Islam, Late
Medieval world, Giotto); linear
perspective/atmospheric perspective
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Linear Perspective
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Brunelleschi: Dome of Florence
Cathedral
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Brunelleschi: Pazzi Chapel
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Alberti:Tempio Malatestiano
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Donatello: Feast of Herod
Completed c. 1425,
this is the first lowrelief sculpture in
the Renaissance
style; note the use of
linear perspective
and the orderly
placement of figures
throughout the three
rooms
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Donatello: David
The frank sensuality of this David
undermines traditional allegorical/
Biblical interpretations . To
Donatello, David is a youthful, selfaware dandy with his effeminate,
undeveloped body, his self-conscious
pose and posture, and his
incongruous hat and boots.
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Verrocchio: David
Inspired by Donatello’s David, this
work impressed Florence’s ruling
council so much that they placed it
in the Palazzo Vecchio, where it
stood until displaced by
Michelangelo’s David.
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Donatello: Gattamelata
This is the first equestrian statue created in
nearly 1,000 years, and Donatello depicts
Erasmo da Narni as a victorious Caesar,
calling on nmerous Classical allusions.
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Ghiberti: Florence Baptistery, North
Doors and Annunciation Panel
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Ghiberti: Florence Baptistery, East
Doors and Cain & Abel Panel
When Michelangelo first saw these doors,
her described them as worthy of Paradise
… and his description has stuck.
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Masaccio: The Holy Trinity
In this fresco, Masaccio uses both linear
and atmospheric perspective to achieve a
remarkable sense of realism and depth.
This techique came to full flower only in
the 17th century.
Not visible in this picture is a skeleton in a
wall sarcophagus, painted with the
inscription “I was once what you are, and
what I am you will also be,” a powerful
memento mori probably ordered by the
member of the Lenzi family whose tomb lies
in front to the fresco.
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Masaccio: The Tribute Money
This fresco, recognized as Masaccio’s masterpiece, follows the narrative
form of medieval art, but adopts Brunelleschi’s classicizing principles.
Each figure occupies a a precise mathematical space. Note also the
contrapposto stance of the tax collector , center and right.
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Fra Angelico: Annunciation
Mary and the
Virgin are
framed in
niches in the
Gothic manner,
but the mastery
of depth, the
simplicity of
gesture, the
purity of colors,
and the
integrated
scene are
rendered in the
Renaissance
style.
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Della Francesco: The Flagellation
This fresco
reflects a
politicoreligious
theme: the hats
on Pilate and
the third man
from the right
suggest that the
Orthodox
church is the
persecutor of
true
Christianity.
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Botticelli: Birth of Venus
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Botticelli: Primavera
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Da Vinci: Virgin of the Rocks
This painting, with its carefully
observed botanical specimens, is
the culmination of the scientific
side of the Early Renaissance.
Some of its features – notably the
grotto setting and the unusual
perspective – point to the High
Renaissance, and the dramatic
use of chiaroscuro foreshadows
the night pictures of the Baroque
period.
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Bellini: St. Francis in Ecstasy
Bellini, a
Venetian,
combined the
traditions of the
Florentine
school with
those of the
Flemish school,
and perfected
the use of
landscape as a
backdrop for
foreground
figures.
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Bellini: Mehmet II
Bellini’s commission for this portrait
grew out of a diplomatic exchange
between Venice and the Ottoman
empire. The portrait blends western
technique with Islamic touches – the
rounded arch with elaborate design,
the sumptuous fabric draped over
the balustrade, the turban and furlined robe, and the black
background.
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Encounter:
The Influence of Islam on the European
Renaissance
Can cultures learn from their enemies? Christian
Europe and the Islamic world, despite mutually
antagonistic religions, did engage in artistic
borrowings in the period from 1300 to 1600.
These borrowings, though modest for both
cultures, were stronger and more enduring in
Christian Europe, where Islamic influences helped
give shape to the visual and decorative arts in the
Renaissance, then in full flower.
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The Spirit and Style of the Early
Renaissance
Music
John Dunstable
Josquin des Prez
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The Spirit and Style of the Early
Renaissance
John Dunstable was not just the first truly great English
composer, he was also musical godfather to the
Renaissance. In the middle of the 15th Century poet
Martin le Franc described how Dufay had adopted the
English manner championed by Dunstable (la contenance
Angloise) and how, to Continental ears, this new style of
music sounded so fresh, and above all, joyful.
•]osquin des Prez is widely recognized as
the greatest of the Renaissance master
musicians. He set the standard for the
various compositional techniques borrowed
and utilized by most composers of his
generation and beyond, and became an
iconic figure whose art captivated
musicians and scholars for centuries.
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The Legacy of the Early
Renaissance
Modern times considered to begin with Early
Renaissance
Drive to individual fulfillment defining trait of
Western civilization from this point forward
Architecture and sculpture influenced by Classical
tradition
More artistic freedom in painting—may account
for its being the dominant art form even today
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