Characteristics of Italian City States PP
Characteristics of Italian City States
Urban Centers
– City state prospered while
Europe remained rural
– Late 1300’s
Florence , Venice and Milan had pop.
Of 100,000
Wealthy merchants
– No kings – wealthy merchants formed oligarchies to rule city-states
– Wealthy families controlled political, economical and artistic life
Florence and the Medici
Florence
– During 15 th cent.
Florence was the epic center of the
Renaissance
– Success was based on wealth earne in textile, merchants and banking
Medici
– Dominated 15 th cent. Florence
– Earned $ as bankers: Cosimo,
Piero and Lorenzo the Magnificent.
– Florence Ren.
Peaked during
Lorenzo.
Renaissance Spirit
Medieval mindset
– God created world to prepare people for salvation – individual was insignificant
– Art and architecture was to glorify God not self
New celebration of individual
– Wealth was worked for not inherited
– Artist and writers wanted to be known –
Fame
– Portrait panting and autobiographies promote individual –
“patrons”
– Stressed “virtu” using your talents and personality to potential
Cont.
– Giovanni pico della
Miranda celebrated human greatness in “Oration on the Dignity of Man”
Scholarship and the love for Classical learning
– Humanist, Petrarch called
Medieval pd. The Dark
Ages.
– Humanists studied Greek and Roman lit. Studying the Classics would lead to a more practical understanding of the human
– Liberal arts, the vernacular and preserving Greek and
Roman manuscripts
– Lorenzo Valla discovered that the Donation of
Constantine was a forgery
Cont.
New Secular spirit
– Medieval – spiritual values and salvation
– Ren. Culture was interested in material possessions, music, food, art
Education and the ideal Courtier
Humanist Education
– Medieval – to understand God,
Humanist – to understand human nature
– Opened schools that taught Rom. Hist.,
Greek Phil. And Latin
– Would benefit future business, political and military leaders
Baldassare Castiglone
1478-1529
– The individual strove to be come the “universal man” excelled in many areas
– The Courtier he explained how men and women could become accomplished courtiers
– Polite, charming, witty, able to dance, write poetry, sing, play music. Be graceful and strong
Castiglione cont.
Perfect court lady
– Well educated
– Charming
– Should not seek fame
– Expected to inspire poetry and art but rarely create it.
Machiavelli and the Prince
Turmoil in Italy
– Golden age ended with death of Lorenzo TM 1492 leaving no strong leader
– 1494 King Charles VIII of
France invaded Italychallenge by Ferdinand of
Spain
– Resulted in the Habsburg-
Valois Wars.
– Involving all Italian city states
– Diplomacy and war become keys to survival
Niccolo Machiavelli
– Was a Florentine diplomat, politician and philosopher.
The founder of modern political science
– Is appalled by the devastation of the war-
Italy is without a head, without order, torn in pieces, overrun, and abandoned to destruction.
She prays God to send someone to rescue her from the barbarous cruelties
– Wrote The Prince to advise Italian leaders on the ruthless statecraft needed to unite Italy
Qualities of a successful Prince
– Pessimistic view of human nature.
– Read selections of
The Prince and The
Courtier. Follow directions.
Test Tip.
– The Prince is an often asked topic on the APEruo exam. You will want to be familiar with his cynical view of human nature and ruthless approach to leadership.
Italian Renaissance Art
Patrons
– Artists were commissioned by the church, guilds and wealthy families
– Art became a symbol of power – patrons used art to display their wealth and fame.
Characteristics of Ren.
Art
– Perspective
depth
– Chairoscuro
Light and shade illusion
– Pyramid style
Symmetry and balance-3D
– Classical forms and
Christian subjects
Tried to revive classical art, mixed classical with Christian subjects
Test Tip
You do not need to memorize a long list of Renaissance artists and works.
Instead, focus on key masterpieces that illustrate Renaissance ideals and the impact of humanism.
Key examples
Leon Battista Alberti,
The West Façade of
Sant’ Andrea
– Broke with medieval traditions, no statues
– Roman triumphal arch/Corinthian pillars
– a break with Christian churches, combining ancient forms with
Christian uses.
Michelangelo, David
The pose resembles statues from Greece and Rome.
Like many classical statues, David is a nude. Not a serene statue, David is ready to face Goliath, note muscles are tense ready for battle.
Raphel, The School of Athens
Three dimensional space
Plato and Aristotle dominate the center
Used contemporaries
– Leonardo da Vinci
– himself
Women and the Renaissance
The debate about women
– The Renaissance coincided with a debate about women (querelle
des femmes)
– Humanist scholars and others debated women’s character, nature and role in society
Christine De Pizan
– 1364-1430
– The first femenist
– Prolific writer-first woman in European history to earn a living as a writer
– Wrote a history of famous women to refute the masculine myth
Women cont.
Castiglione and the perfect women
– Should be attractive
– Well educated
– Able to paint, dance and play a musical instrument
– Was not to participate in political, artistic or literary affairs
– Should be an attractive ornament for her husband
Isabella D’Este
– 1475-1539
– Most famous
Renaissance women
– From the ruling family
Ferrara married the ruler of Mantua
– An art patron, collected from the great artists
– Becoming an art patron was most socially acceptable for a well educated Renaissance women
