The Renaissance

Why?  Middle Ages Europe suffered from war and plague  Began to question the church  Taught you need to suffer during life for reward in heaven

Renaissance  Means rebirth   Educated people wanted to bring back to life the culture of classical Greece and Rome  Spread from Italy to the rest of Europe

City States  Oversea trade led to the growth of city-states in northern Italy  The bubonic plague killed up to 60% of the population during the Middle Ages  Laborers could demand higher wages  It was hard to expand business so merchants perused other interests (art)

Merchants  Merchants became wealthy  Merchants felt they deserved power and wealth because they earned it  In the past, power was inherited

Medici Family  Powerful banking family that gained political control of Florence  The family’s bank had branches throughout Italy and Europe  Cosimo Medici won control of Florence’s government in 1434 and was a dictator for 30 years  Instead of having a formal political position he gave members of the ruling council loans and then told them what to do

Humanism  Focused on human potential and achievements  Influenced artists and architects to carry on classical traditions  Study the subjects common to classical education: history, literature and philosophy (these subjects are called the humanities)

Humanism  Taught that you could enjoy life on earth without offending God (If you have money spend it on stuff you want!)  Secular – become concerned with worldly things going on here and now – not just spiritual life and the afterlife

Patrons of Art  Church leaders, merchants and wealthy families paid for artwork  They either had their own portrait painted or donated art to be displayed throughout the city

Renaissance Man  Excel in all aspects of life – be educated, have a good personality, do “artsy” things as well as be athletic  Renaissance Women-were expected to inspire art yet not create it

Renaissance Art  They copied classical models of art  Used the technique of perspective – showing three dimensions on a flat surface

Difference in Painting Medieval Renaissance (The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne by Leonardo da Vinci, 1510)

Difference in Painting Renaissance (Pope Julius II by Raphael) Medieval

Michelangelo  Poet, sculptor, architect and painter  Used a realistic style when depicting the human body Madonna & Child

Leonardo da Vinci ( )  A great artist, but more than any other person of his age, personified the idea of the “Renaissance man”  Someone of broad interests who is accomplished in both the arts and sciences Mona Lisa uses light and shadow and perspective to make the figures fully human, enigmatic, and mysterious

Leonardo da Vinci da Vinci’s study of the proportions of the human body da Vinci’s plans for a helicopter

Political Power & The Renaissance  Is it better to be loved more than feared or feared more than loved?  Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513 while he was virtually under house arrest  served in the Florentine Republic, accused of conspiracy, arrested & tortured in prison. Released to his country home, he wrote the first modern treatise on political science. Focus is how to get & keep power Rejected Medieval thought that rulers must follow Christian morals. Said morality unrelated to politics. Humans are motivated by self-interest. “{Men} are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are yours entirely.” A prince acts on behalf of state. When possible do good.. BUT… be ready to do evil when necessary. The ends justify the means.

Think like Machiavelli “Everyone realizes how praiseworthy it is for a prince to honor his word and to be straightforward rather than crafty in his dealings; none the less, contemporary experience shows that princes who have achieved great things have been those who have given their word lightly, who have known how to trick men with their cunning, and who, in the end, have overcome those abiding by honest principles.”  What does Machiavelli use as the basis for his argument about how a prince should act?  Does Machiavelli think that a prince should prefer to be loved or feared? Why?  Why might Machiavelli have argued that political activity should not be restricted by moral principles?

Movable Type  Johannes Gutenberg’s use of movable type to print books accelerated the spread of classical learning  Allowed for the mass production of texts that spread the cultural heritage of the classical world throughout Europe