Patronage & Power 1400-1530

Map of Europe with Flanders and Italy

Timeline for the Italian Renaissance 1347-1351: Black Death ravages Europe 1350-1375: Boccaccio at the height of his career 1380-1400: Chaucer inspired by Boccaccio, writes Canterbury Tales 1410: Medici Bank loans money to Baldasare Cossa 1410-1435: Brunelleschi designs and supervises construction of Florence’s domed cathedral 1435: Donatello make the David; Medici become de facto rulers of Florence 1494: Medici flee Florence 1504: Michelangelo creates his David 1513: Medici re-capture Florence and control the papacy

Humanism 1300-1600 Portrait of a Humanist by Giovanni Bellini c. 1490

Italy: The Seedbed of Literary Humanism

Dante Alighieri 1265-1321

Often referred to as the first humanist Francesco Petrarch 1302-1374 Often referred to as the first humanist

Giovanni Boccaccio 1313-75 Florentine poet and scholar who became close friends with Petrarch The son of a merchant, he spent much of his youth at the court of Naples, where he developed an interest in chivalric literature and love poetry

Discuss Boccaccio How did the Decameron reflect the culture that produced it?

Why do you think Boccaccio regretted writing this book when he was older? Maybe he suffered from grumpy old man syndrome His tastes changes as he became more learned and erudite He began to take himself too seriously I do not have the foggiest idea Something else

How did the Decameron differ from Beowulf? It embraced religious toleration, and Beowulf did not It did not depict sinfulness and its effects, but Beowulf did It had no hero It depicted a broader spectrum of society It had more female characters

Final Exam Short answer Question Explain how Boccaccio’s Decameron reflected the changing nature of social relations in the 1300s.

Lorenzo Valla 1407-1457 Treatise on Donation of Constantine c. 1440 Poet, philosopher, literary critic Master of classical rhetoric and grammar Worked in court of Alfonso of Naples in 1430s before becoming a papal secretary

Machiavelli Self taught for the most part, this Florentine thinker was highly original in his political ideas Later in life he fell afoul of the Florentine oligarchy and was tortured His views on politics are still widely controversial today

Pico Della Mirandola, 1463-1494 How did Pico’s “Oration” differ from the Decameron in its attitude toward humanity?

Erasmus 1466-1536 Translated the New Testament from Greek to Latin c Erasmus 1466-1536 Translated the New Testament from Greek to Latin c. 1500 Coined the phrase the philosophy of Christ

Thomas More described an ideal society in Utopia by Hans Holbein the Younger c. 1527

Henry VIII By Hans Holbein c. 1536

William Shakespeare 1564-1616

They recognized that art could increase the awareness of humanity Why did Renaissance rulers spend so much money on patronizing the arts? They recognized that art could increase the awareness of humanity They were intent on creating more beautiful world to live in They thought such patronage could increase their prestige They had very little else to do with all their money

Renaissance Prince Ludovico Sforza 1452-1508

Sforza’s father was a mercenary captain before he became the Duke of Milan

Emperor Rudolf II 1552-1612 r. 1576-1611

Rudolf as Vertumnus Roman god of seasons by Arcimboldo c. 1591

What messages could patronage send to society? The ruler was wise The ruler was generous The ruler was pious/religious The ruler was favored by God The ruler ensured God’s favor

Giovanni di Bici de Medici 1360-1349

Baldassare Cossa anti-Pope John XXIII 1370-1419

Cosimo de Medici 1389-1464

Donatello’s David 1434 Early Renaissance Sculpture

Filippo Brunelleschi 1377-1446

Brunelleschi’s Dome Cathedral of Florence

The Pantheon

Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia

French Gothic at St. Chapelle

Il Magnifico Lorenzo de Medici

Leonardo’s Angel Oil on wood 1472-5

Michelangelo Tomb of Lorenzo de Medici

Sandro Botticelli 1444-1510

Primavera c. 1482

Birth of Venus c. 1485

Savonarola anti Medici Coup 1494

Bonfire of the Vanities

Niccolò Machiavelli 1469-1527

Michelangelo Buonarroti David 1501-4

Pope Leo X (Giovanni de Medici) with Future Pope Clement VII (Julio de Medici)

Alessandro de Medici 1510-1537

Discuss Boccaccio How does it differ from chivalric literature, such as the Tale of Yonec? Why was this work not high medieval in terms of its religious orientation? How do the stories convey a middle-class perspective? What parts of society did the Decameron’s characters include?

Discuss Boccaccio Based on what you have read so far, for whom did Boccaccio write this book and why? How does it differ from Beowulf or the readings from the High Middle Ages? How does it reflect the culture that produced it?