The Renaissance Begins
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What changes in Europe led to the Renaissance?
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Identify elements of classical, medieval, and
Renaissance art.
Connect the importance of the growth of towns,
the rise of a money economy, and the development
of independent city-states to the birth and spread
of Renaissance ideas.
Explore how humanism encouraged a new way of
thinking that affected many aspects of European
life during the Renaissance.
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Renaissance is a French word that means
“rebirth.”
The Renaissance period in Europe was from about
1300 to 1600.
Considered to be an end to the darker Middle
Ages.
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Remember…
◦ The middle ages in Europe were based on feudalism.
◦ The Roman Catholic Church encouraged people to think
more about life after death than about daily life on Earth.
◦ Few people were educated.
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In the late Middle Ages…
◦ Trade and commerce increased
◦ Wealthy merchants and bankers supported the growth of
arts and learning
◦ Renewed interest in the past sparked new creativity in
architecture and new ways of thinking.
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Began in Italy in the 1300s and spread to other
parts of Europe in the 1400s and 1500s.
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Renaissance: a great flowering of culture, based
on classical Greek and Roman ideas and art, that
began in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and spread
throughout Europe.
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Classical Art: art influenced by the styles and
techniques of ancient Greece and Rome.
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After the fall of Rome in the 5th century, the
classical works were kept mostly by monks and
members of the clergy.
In the Late Middle Ages – merchants and
Crusaders brought back some of these ideas from
the East.
People became very interested in these works and
were inspired to create some of the literature and
art of the Renaissance.
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Classical Art
500 BCE – 500 CE
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Artists created sculptures, pottery, murals and
mosaics.
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Purpose of the art was to show the importance of
ordinary people and civic leaders, as well as gods
and goddessess..
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Classical Art
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Artists valued balance and harmony
Figures were lifelike – but more perfect than in real life.
Bodies looked active and motion was believable
Figures were nude or draped in togas
Faces were calm and no emotion
Scenes showed either heroic figures or real people doing
daily life tasks
◦ Little background or sense of perspective
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Medieval Art
500 to 1300 CE
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Artists created stained glass windows, sculptures,
illuminated manuscripts, paintings and tapestries.
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Purpose of art was to teach religion to people who
could not read or write.
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Medieval Art
◦ Most art was religious, showing Jesus, saints and people
from the Bible.
◦ Important figures in paintings were shown larger than
others around them.
◦ Figures looked stiff, with little sense of movement
◦ Figures were fully dressed in stiff-looking clothing
◦ Faces were serious and showed little expression
◦ Painted figures looked two-dimension or flat
◦ Paint colors were bright
◦ Backgrounds were mostly one color, often blue or gold
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Renaissance Art
1300s to the early 1600s
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Artists created sculptures, murals, drawings, and
paintings
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Purpose was to show the importance of people and
nature, not just religious ideas
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Renaissance Art
◦ artists showed religious and nonreligious scenes
◦ Art reflected nature
◦ Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional – reflected
new knowledge of anatomy
◦ Figures shown in action
◦ Figures were either nude or clothed
◦ Faces expressed what people were feeling
◦ Colors were shown responding to light
◦ Paintings were symmetrical, or balanced, with the right
and left sides having identical elements
◦ Full backgrounds showed perspective, adding depth.
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Trade brought new ideas as well as good into
Europe.
Prosperous cities and new classes of people were
created and people now had the wealth to support
art and learning.
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11th Century – Crusades strengthened contacts
between western Europe and Byzantine and
Muslim cultures
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13th Century – Mongol conquests made the Silk
Road to China safer
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Marco Polo explored trade routes from Italy to
Europe, Africa and Asia
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Venice and Genoa in Italy were central trade hubs
linking western Europe with the east.
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Trade ships carried goods to England, Scandinavia
and Russia
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Middle Ages – barter system for goods
Renaissance – people used coins to buy
merchandise
◦ Coins came from all over and there money changers were
developed to convert currency from one type to another.
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Resulted in craftspeople, merchants and bankers
became more important in society.
People who gained wealth through trade and
commerce were able to make the cities more
beautiful.
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Key Content Term
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City State – an independent state consisting of a
city and its surrounding territory.
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Republic – a form of government in which
citizens elect representatives to rule for them.
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In the Late Middle Ages – Italy had growing towns
which developed into City-States.
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Conducted their own trade
Collected their own taxes
Made their own laws
Power in the republic belonged to the people (or really –
the rich merchants)
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Some city states became specialized
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Florence – center for cloth and banking
Milan – metal goods and armor
Genoa – port for ivory trade and gold from Africa
Venice – had ships that controlled trade routes on the
Mediterranean Sea
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These city states had a ton of wealth, and the rich
families paid for statues, paintings, beautiful
buildings and elegant avenues.
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They built new centers of learning – universities
and hospitals.
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Key Content Terms:
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Humanism – a philosophy that tries to balance
religious faith with an emphasis on individual
dignity and an interest in nature and human
society.
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Humanities – collectively, areas of study that
focus on human life and culture, such as history,
literature and ethics.
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Key Content Terms
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Individualism – the belief in the importance of an
individual’s achievements and dignity.
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Humanism first came about in Italy as a result of
the renewed interest in classical culture.
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One of the first Humanists was a man named
Francesco Petrarch.
◦ Loved old books
◦ Created a large collection of ancient Latin and Greek
texts that he made available to other scholars.
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Scholars traveled to Italy to learn about the new
humanist ideas sparked by classical culture.
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They created a new way of looking at life
◦ The importance of the dignity of each individual
◦ Each person has the ability to control their own lives and
achieve greatness (you were no longer stuck where you
were born)
◦ Separated the state and its right to rule from the Church
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Humanist architects created buildings that had
pillars, arches, and courtyards.
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Scholars began to teach methods of observation
and experimentation
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Scientists proposed new ideas about the starts and
planets
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These new ideas put humanist’s into conflict with
the Roman Catholic Church.
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The Church still wanted people to believe that laws
were made by God and that people who broke
those laws were sinful. The Church wanted people
to follow the rules and not question them.
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Humanists wanted people to think for themselves
and question everything.
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What was the Renaissance?
The Renaissance was a flowering of art and
learning that was inspired by a rediscovery of the
classical cultures of Greece and Rome. It began in
Italy around 1300 and spread throughout Europe,
lasting to the early 1600s.
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The Growth of Trade and Commerce
Italy’s location made it a perfect crossroads for
trade between Europe and Asia, which began to
increase at this time. This growth of trade and
commerce created prosperous cities and classes of
people with enough wealth to support education
and the arts.
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The Influence of Italian City States
The developing wealth and power of the individual
Italian city-states helped to promote and spread
Renaissance ideas. Civic leaders and wealthy
private individuals paid for new works of art and
built new centers of learning.
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The Growth of Humanism
The new philosophy of humanism spurred interest
in learning and fresh ways of thinking. Humanist,
such as Francesco Petrarch, sought to balance
religious faith with an emphasis on individualism,
the workings of the natural world, and human
society. The sought to separate the workings of
government from the Church.