The Renaissance

The Early Renaissance 1400s – 1490s  Where did the Renaissance begin?  Why did it begin there?  What were the driving factors behind the Renaissance?

The Italian City-States  What is a City-State?

The Italian City-States  What were the advantages?

The Italian City-States  What were the disadvantages?

The Italian City-States Florence and Milan were ruled by rival families, the Medici’s and the Sforza Family respectively.

Venice was a Republic, ruled by a Senate which elected a Doge to head the government. The Doge remained in power for life but the position was not hereditary.

The Papal states were run by the Pope elected by the Bishops for life. The power of which was diminishing as the Renaissance ideas of humanism and secularism were expanding.

Western Schism

Florence, Italy  The Cultural Center of Europe in the Early Renaissance  Art  Commerce  Banking

The Social Structure POPULO GROSSO: “fat people” – 5% of the population – elite/nobles, wealthy merchants, and manufacturers. MEDIOCI: middle – smaller merchants and master artisans. SKILLED WORKERS POPULO MINUTO: “little people” – bulk of the urban population. UNSKILLED WORKERS

The Social Structure There was some social mobility – Why?

The Medici Family Cosimo de’ Medici Carlo di Cosimo de’Medici Piero de’Medici Giuliano de’Medici Giulio de’Medici [Pope Clement VII] Lorenzo “The Magnificent” Piero de’Medici Lorenzo de’Medici Catherine de’Medici [Queen of France] Giovanni de’Medici [Pope Leo X] Cosimo established the Medici Bank and “unofficially” ruled Florence from He was a patron of the humanities and supporter of Bunelleschi and Donatello among others Lorenzo de’Medici was known as The Magnifient. He was also a patron of humanities and supported Botticello, da Vinci, and Michelangelo Piero lost control of Florence in He died in exile Piero’s son Lorenzo gained control of Florence back and ruled at the height of the Medici’s power over Florence Catherine de’Medici married Henry of Navarre and became the Queen of France

The Medici Family  Wealthy Banking Family – provided stability  Banished rival clans  Manipulated electoral process  Cosimo’s Grandson – survived an assassination attempt – hours later enemies of the family were hanging upside down from a government building – including the archbishop of Pisa  Botticello was commissioned to paint them as they swung.

The Beginning of the Modern Banking System  The Medici’s set up the first modern banking system with branches in England and Bruges as well as throughout the Italian peninsula  The Gold Florin became the standard currency in European trade  WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BANKING?  WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

HUMANISM  A transition from the scholasticism of the Middle Ages  Revival of Greek and Roman beliefs  Appreciation of physical beauty  Emphasis on man’s own achievements  Secularism  PETRARCH – considered the first humanist

Science and Technology  Influenced by Humanism which encouraged curiosity and questioning of accepted beliefs  Experimentation and observation  Define and understand the laws of nature and the physical world.

THE EARLY RENAISSANCE  s  Patronage of the Medici family made:  Florence the center of the Early Renaissance  Allowed artists to become successful celebrities

Brunelleschi   8 sided dome of Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral  The symbol of Florence

Brunelleschi  Devised a way to draw and paint using linear perspective  “chiaroscuro” – the illusion of 3D

Donatello  David, de Donatello  1430 – commissioned by Cosimo de Medici  Humanism – first free standing nude statue since ancient times  Civic-humanism

Titian & Giorgione  Developed method of painting with oil directly on canvas  Allowed artists to reword an image which they couldn’t do with fresco painting  Transitioning into the Northern Renaissance

DESIDERIUS ERASMUS  Erasmus of Rotterdam  promoted religious toleration  wanted the Church to reform

The High Renaissance  1490s – 1527  Rome replaced Florence as the center of culture  Pope Leo X – he was the son of Lorenzo de Medici

Michelangelo  David – became the symbol of Florence  Dominant sculptor of the Renaissance  Humanism – reflected the ideals of the Greek Gods

Michelangelo  Pieta,

Michelangelo  The Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel,

Leonardo da Vinci  Mona Lisa,  “Renaissance Man”  Artist  Scientist  Architect  Philosopher  Engineer

Leonardo da Vinci  The Virgin of the Rocks, 1483  Unparalleled ability to portray light and shadow  And to portray the physical relationship between figures and the landscape

Leonardo da Vinci  The Last Supper,

Raphael  The School of Athens,  Learned from Michelangelo and da Vinci  Humanism – expressed classical ideals of beauty, serenity and harmony

Northern Renaissance  Northern “Christian” Humanism – applied the Classical beliefs and ideals to the traditional understandings of the gospel.  Art was more detailed and more focused on color than in the Italian Renaissance  Sir Thomas More - Utopia

Jan Van Eyck  Arnolfini Portrait – 1434  Netherlands  Techniques allowed for deeper and more vibrant color  Considered one of the first painting of “everyday life”

Albrecht Durer  Self Portrait, 1500  Germany

Hans Holbein the Younger  Portrait of Henry VIII, 1536  German  Became the Court Painter for Henry VIII  Humanist

Pieter Bruegel, the Elder  The Peasant Wedding, 1567  Flemish (Belgian)

Transitions of the Renaissance