RENAISSANCE IS A FRENCH WORD…IT MEANS “REBIRTH”
IT IS NOT TILL 1830 THAT THE TERM IS USED…BY A SWISS
HISTORIAN JACOB BURCKHARDT
THE RENAISSANCE ONLY AFFECTS THE WEALTHY ELITE…A
SMALL ELITE…THE MAJORITY OF EUROPEANS ARE NOT
TOUCHED BY IT.
PEASANTS CONTINUED TO SUFFER.
MOST CHANGES ARE IN THE ARTS AND IN LEARNING
IT IS THE PRINTING PRESS…GUTENBERG’S MOVEABLE
TYPE…THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SPREAD OF
RENAISSANCE IDEAS.
BOOKS CAN NOW BE PRODUCED QUICKLY AND CHEAPLY
THE RENAISSANCE BEGINS IN THE ITALIAN CITY STATES
IN THE LATE 14TH CENTURY (QUATROCENTRO)
WEALTH…SPURS ON THE RENAISSANCE…AND LOTS OF IT!
ITALY IS BEAUTIFULLY POSITIONED BETWEEN THE MUSLIM
EAST AND THE CHRISTIAN NORTH.
ITALY TRADES THE SPICES PRODUCED IN THE EAST TO THE CHRISTIAN
NORTH…THEY ACT AS GO BETWEENS. CHRISTIANS DO NOT WANT TO
DEAL WITH MUSLIMS
SPICE…SUCH AS PEPPER, GINGER, CURRY, CINNAMON, ETC…WAS OUNCE
FOR OUNCE MORE VALUABLE THAN GOLD
THEY INVENT BANKS OF COURSE!!!
THEY HAVE SO MUCH MONEY THEY START
LENDING IT TO PEOPLE ALL OVER EUROPE…NO NOT
TO PEASANTS!
THEY CHARGE INTEREST AND MAKE EVEN MORE
MONEY!
THE MORE MONEY THAT CAME IN TO THEM…THE
MORE LUXURIES THEY BOUGHT, THE MORE
LUXURIES THEY HAD, THE MORE THEY
WANTED…SOUND FAMILIAR…WHO HAS AN iphone?
THEY ALSO HAD LEISURE TIME TO PURSUE NEW
IDEAS…LIKE HUMANISM (WE WILL GET TO IT)…
AND PATRONAGE OF THE ARTS…THEY
COMMISSIONED ARTISTS TO PAINT FOR
THEM…UHH LEONARDO WILL YOU PAINT MY
PORTRAIT…?
Miss
Italy…runner
up
It’s the
donuts on my
ears isn’t it?
PORTRAITS
ANYONE?
I’m so pretty…
Miss Italy, 1560
Life in Europe, in the Middle Ages was miserable.
The Middle Ages was a time when RELIGION was the dominant
feature…life was a preparation for the afterlife….to gain Salvation.
MAN WAS POWERLESS IN A HARSH UNIVERSE…WE COULD NOT
CHANGE THINGS, WE HAD TO JUST ACCEPT…SUFFERING WAS
PART OF OUR LOT IN LIFE.
The church would explain the WHY in terms of religion…you were not
pious enough, you had displeased God, you had not given enough money to
the church…It changed to…Life can be lived for today, and yes, it can be
enjoyed.
We go from spiritual reward to material reward.
THE CHURCH WAS NOT HAPPY!!!
From the SPIRITUAL TO THE SECULAR --
The secular emphasizes the “here
and now” rather than the “other
world of heaven”
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Emphasis is placed on material
rewards rather than on spiritual
happiness.
The world begins to be explained in
terms of DISCOVERABLE
CAUSES…The Bible is superseded
as the ultimate authority
Secularism changed the attitude
of helplessness
Checkout the following
Shakespeare quote from
Hamlet…
“WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS
MAN, HOW NOBLE IN
REASON,
HOW INFINITE IN FACULTY,
IN FORM AND MOVING,
HOW EXPRESS AND
ADMIRABLE IN ACTION,
HOW LIKE AN ANGEL IN
APPREHENSION,
HOW LIKE A GOD: THE
BEAUTY OF THE WORLD,
PARAGON OF ANIMALS”
Contrast Shakespeare's attitude with that
of the Middle Ages…

TYPICAL DRESS
FOR
RENAISSANCE
LADIES

THE MONA
LISA
You knew that
The Renaissance “Man”…the ideal man was
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knowledgeable about many things in different fields…a
man of Virtu excelling in all he did
He was confident in himself…in his abilities
He made the most of his opportunities
A deep knowledge of literature, poetry, rhetoric,
business, the art of war, self-defense, he spoke 2 or 3
languages…and of course he was a man of INTEGRITY
and DIGNITY
He was able to link information from different areas and
disciplines to create new knowledge.
He was a HUMANIST…(next slide)
The Greek ideal of the “well-rounded man” was at the
heart of Renaissance education.
DIGNITY
CONFIDENCE
INTEGRITY
OPPORTUNITIES
LITERATURE
SELF DEFENCE
There are different interpretations of what HUMANISM was..
It is primarily a way of seeing the world around you and
interacting with that world…a “moral compass”
PETRARCH (1304-1374)is considered to be the “Father of
Humanism”…he is anti-war and pro-secular literature.
Humanist goals were: a) demonstrate a knowledge of
languages…Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and a modern vernacular
b) Know history…especially Ancient Greek and Roman
c) Be athletic…the manly art of fencing
d) Moral character…getting away from the church’s view of
“God’s will” humanists believed in FREE WILL.
e) Behavior…manners and courtesy…how you act towards
people…best seen in Baldasar Castiglione’s The Courtier which
was a manual of how to act, how to court and make love…
f) You applied these humanist philosophies to cultural and
political life…you contributed to your communities with
beautification projects like sculpture and public artworks
MEDIEVAL ART DEALT WITH RELIGIOUS THEMES…BIBLICAL
STORIES
RENAISSANCE ART DID HAVE RELIGIOUS THEMES BUT
OFTEN DEALT WITH SECULAR THEMES…PORTRAIT, NUDES
(COVER YOUR EYES WE ARE IN VISTA!)
ARTISTS BEGIN TO USE OIL PAINTS AS A MEDIUM
LINEAR PERSPECTIVE GIVES THE IMPRESSION OF THREE
DIMENSIONALITY
ART OBSERVES THE NATURAL WORLD AND HUMAN EMOTION
SCULPTURE…EXPLORES INDIVIDUALISTIC, NON-RELIGIOUS,
NUDES
ARCHITECTURE…LOOKED BACK TO THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND
ROMANS…ROUNDED ARCHES AND SQUARED ANGLES
LITERATURE…BECAME MORE SECULAR. AUTHORS EXPLORED
THE HUMAN CONDITION…e.g. SHAKESPEARE, CASTIGLIONE,
BOCCACCIO, AND MACHIAVELLI…write down the books these
authors wrote and what were the books about.
From Medieval art
To
Renaissance art
Realism &
Expression
 Expulsion from
the Garden
 Masaccio
 1427
 First nudes since
classical times.
Linear Perspective
 The Trinity
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Masaccio
1427
Perspective!
Perspective!
First use
of linear
perspective!
What you
are, I once
was; what I
am, you will
become.
Classicism
Greco-Roman
influence.
Secularism.
Humanism.
Individualism  free
standing figures.
Symmetry/Balance
The “Classical Pose”
Medici “Venus”
(Greek 1st century)
Emphasis on Individualism
 Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre: The Duke &
Dutchess of Urbino
 Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.
Do I
have a
bump on
my
nose?
Isabella d’Este – da Vinci, 1499
1474-1539
“First Lady of the
Italian Renaissance.”
Great patroness of
the arts in Mantua.
Known during her
time as “First Lady
of the World!”
Geometrical Arrangement of
Figures
 The Dreyfus
Madonna
with the
Pomegranate
 Leonardo da
Vinci
 1469
 The figure as
architecture!
Light & Shadowing/Softening Edges
Sfumato
Chiaroscuro
Florence Under the Medici
The Medici Chapel
The Medici Palace
Lorenzo
the Magnificent
1478 - 1521
Cosimo de Medici
1517 - 1574

Commissioned to build
the cathedral dome.
 Used unique
architectural
concepts.
 He studied the
ancient
Pantheon in Rome.
 When he designed
the dome for the
cathedral in Florence
he…
 Used ribs for support.
Brunelleschi’s “Secret”
Brunelleschi’s Dome
Dome Comparisons
Il Duomo
(Florence)
St. Peter’s
St. Paul’s
(Rome)
(London)
US Capital
(Washington)
Let us now take a look at
some examples of how the
individual was portrayed
during the Renaissance
Self-Portrait -- da Vinci, 1512
 Artist
 Sculptor
 Architect
 Scientist
 Engineer
 Inventor
1452 - 1519
This diagram is
taken from an
illustration of
Vitruvius'
theory by
Leonardo da Vinci
The
L’uomo
universale
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Vitruvius, the architect, says in his work on architecture that the measurements of the
human body are as follows: 4 fingers make 1 palm; 4 palms make 1 foot; 6 palms make 1
cubit; 4 cubits make a man's height. 4 cubits make one pace and 24 palms make a man.
The length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height.
“From the roots of his hair to the bottom of his chin is a tenth of a man's height; from
the bottom of the chin to the top of the head is one eighth of his height; from the top
of the breast to the roots of the hair will be the seventh part of the whole man.
From the nipples to the top of the head will be the fourth part of man. The greatest
width of the shoulders contains in itself the fourth part of man. From the elbow to the
tip of the hand will be the fifth part of a man; and from the elbow to the angle of the
armpit will be the eighth part of man.
Leonardo, the artist:
from his notebook…of over 5000 pages
No stylized beauty here…the individual in all his/her ugliness
Mona Lisa – da Vinci
Mona Lisa OR da Vinci??
Leonardo, the
Artist
 The Virgin of
the Rocks
 Leonardo da
Vinci
 1483-1486
The
Refractory
at the
Convent of
Santa Maria
delle Grazie
in Milan
The Last Supper
by Leonardo da Vinci, 1498
A lesson in Geometry
vertical
The Last Supper - da Vinci, 1498
horizontal
Multiple Perspectives!
A Da Vinci “Code”:
Is it John, or, is it Mary Magdalene?
Deterioration of
the masterpiece..
 Closeup of
Jesus
 The Last Supper
 Leonardo da
Vinci
 1498
Let us move on
to other artists and
sculptors of the Renaissance
The Liberation of Sculpture
 David by Donatello
 1430
 First free-form bronze since
Roman times!
Another
David
by
Verrocchio
1473 - 1475
 A third example of David by
Michelangelo Buonarotti
1504 made from Marble
15th
century
What
a
difference
a
century
makes!
16th century
Comparing Domes
The Sistine
Chapel
Michelangelo
Buonarroti
1508 - 1512
The Sistine Chapel’s Ceiling
Michelangelo Buonarroti
1508 - 1512
The Sistine Chapel …one of the panels
The
Creation
of the
Heavens
The Sistine Chapel… more
Creation of Man
Details
The Sistine Chapel …More Details
Adam and
Eve…
The Fall
from Grace
The Sistine Chapel …More Details
The Last Judgment
The Popes as Patrons of the Arts
The Pieta
Michelangelo
Buonarroti
1499
marble
Michelangelo's Moses
This is the last of Michelangelo's projects for
the tomb which Pope Julius commissioned
in 1506.
 The statue of Moses was sculpted during
the years when Michelangelo was painting
the Sistine Chapel.
 You see Moses glaring at the children of
Israel after he descends from Mt. Sinai with
the Tablets of the Law…the 10
commandments…Thou shalt listen to Mr.
Green!!!
 The extraordinary force of this figure, the
tension in the veins and muscles, the
posture and the furious expression, have
rightly made this Moses one of the most
admired masterpieces of all time.
 Please notice the HORNS atop Moses
head!

Rafael (1483-1520)
Self-Portrait, 1506
Portrait of the Artist with a
Friend, 1518
Baldassare Castiglione by Raphael,
 Castiglione represented the
humanist “gentleman”… a
man of refinement and
self-control.
 In The Courtier …a manual
of manners and courtly
love…he describes the ideal
man
Perspective!
Betrothal
of the
Virgin
Raphael
1504
Raphael’s Canagiani Madonna, 1507
Raphael’s Madonnas
Sistine Madonna
Cowpepper Madonna
More of Raphael’s Madonnas
Madonna della Sedia
Alba Madonna
The School of Athens – Raphael, 1510 -11
Da Vinci
Raphael
Michelangelo
The School of Athens – Raphael, details
Plato:
looks to the
heavens…
or
the IDEAL
realm.
Aristotle:
looks to this
earth…the
here and
now.
Hypatia
Pythagoras
Zoroaster
Ptolemy
Euclid
The School of Athens – Raphael, 1510 -11
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One point perspective.
All of the important Greek philosophers and
thinkers are included  all of the great
personalities of the Seven Liberal Arts!
A great variety of poses.
Located in the papal apartments library.
Raphael worked on this commission
simultaneously as Michelangelo was doing the
Sistine Chapel.
No Christian themes here.
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http://www.wga.hu/index1.html
A great resource for your art project