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Introduction to the Renaissance

Renaissance A cultural awakening, or rebirth, that signaled the beginning of the modern era. Rebirth of classical ideas: art, architecture, philosophy, literature, finance, views of the world, etc.

Inspired by...

Renaissance  Years: (approximately)  Began in Italy  Florence  Spread to Northern Europe  Never hit certain countries like  Holy Roman Empire  Baltics  Poland  Russia.

Setting the Stage  Went through war and plague  Want to celebrate life  More about the individual  Start to question previous institutions  Church

Why Italy?  One of the first effected by the plague = first country to return to health and city life  Less work force, Increase wages  Low business, pursue other interests  Church weakened by plague and closest to Italy (Vatican) = more secular approach, more concern for the arts

Why Italy  Warm  more food  more specialization \  Loose confederation of states  much easier to change one or two parts, like Venice or Florence than a whole country, like England  Breeding ground for intellectual revolution

The City States of Italy

Merchants  Rich merchants or traders emerged in city-states  dominate politics  They didn't inherit positions like nobles, so to be successful, they used their brains  felt they deserved riches because of their individual merit  Individual achievement becomes a cornerstone of Renaissance

Medici  Florence falls under control of a rich banking family  the Medici’s  Cosimo de Medici rules Florence by using his wealth to loan money and create debt  Dictator of Florence for 30 years

Philosophy: Humanism  Intellectual movement focused on secular, or worldly, themes.  God-centric people-centric  Strong belief in the individual  Enjoy life, not to worry about offending God  Wanted to use classical beliefs to renew society  Focus of Humanities

The Renaissance Man  A man who excelled in many fields was praised as a “universal man”  The ideal individual tried to master almost every area of study—WELL EDUCATED  Young men should be charming, witty and well educated  Dance, sing, write poetry, also a skilled athlete

The Renaissance Woman  Upper class should know the classics as well as be charming  However, not to seek fame  Should inspire art, but not create it

Art  Art becomes everything  Wealthy people become patrons of art  Financially supporting artists  Would have their own portraits painted and displayed in public – huge ego boost  Change in style  Medieval: religion to show spiritual idea  Renaissance: religion to show realistic style copied from Greeks and Romans  Perspective: three dimensions on a flat surface

Human Measurements Activity

Duccio-November 1308

Danse Macabre

School of Athens by Raphael, fresco, St. Peter’s Basilica, 1510

Art  Leonardo Da Vinci  Painter, sculptor, inventor and scientist  The ultimate renaissance man  Had a large number of notebooks filled with his creations  Mona Lisa, The Last Supper

 Raphael Sanzio  Studied from the best  Famous for use of perspective

Renaissance Writing  Works often reflected the time  The use of vernacular  Self-expression or individuality  New trends begin – still used today

Petrach and Boccaccio  Wrote sonnets – 14 line poems  Decameron  Realistic and off color stories  Tragic and comic views of life

Machiavelli  Imperfect human conduct  The Prince  Political guidebook  People are selfish and corrupt

The Northern Renaissance  After war and plague the cities grew rapidly and the new culture idea begin to spread

Artistic ideas spread  People visited Italy and brought the ideas back home  Focus on realism  Albrecht Durer  Hans Holbein  Jan Van Eyck  Oil paintings  Peter Bruegel

Writers spread reform  Critical about the failure of the Church  Christian Humanism movement  Education became the most important  Desiderius Erasmus & Thomas More  The Praise of Folly  Utopia  Writings become translated into multiple languages

William Shakespeare  Inspired by the classics  Dramatic conflict  Human flaws  Known as one of the greatest playwright

The Printing Press  Chinese invented block printing  Brought to England, but process was too slow  Johann Gutenberg created the printing press  Books could be produced quick and cheap  The Gutenberg Bible was the first book  Everyone could now afford books  A copyist would take up to five months  Press could make 500 books in the same time

Renaissance Legacy  Artistic and social change  Gradual rise in democratic ideas – individual  Secular ideas rather than religious  Vernacular even more popular  Increased desire for learning  All these idea will lead to the Reformation