The Renaissance

The Renaissance begins in Italy

• The Renaissance begins in Italy and
spreads north to the rest of Europe.
What makes Italy so special?
1. Italy was the center of trade between
northern Europe and Africa.
2. It was the center of Greco-Roman culture.
3. It was the center of the Catholic Church.
• The Renaissance runs between 1300
and 1650.
 The Beginning
• The term Renaissance means “rebirth” in
Latin.
• It was the rebirth of art and learning.
• It was influenced by very powerful families
such as the Medici family.
• The Medici’s were bankers out of Florence.
• The families gave support to various artists.
 Characteristics of the
Renaissance
• Humanism
• Individualism: “Cult of the Individual”
• Questioning Attitude
• Interest in Secular, or non-religious
worldly matters.
• Rise of the middle class (Disposable
income)
• Great achievements in the arts.
 Humanism
• Humanism is the idea that is focused on
human achievements and potential rather
than religious themes.
• Focused on the man and his world.
• Concentrated on everyday human problems
and relationships.
• Humanists focus on pleasure rather than
morality.
 Humanism
• The secular nature of humanism, as well as
it’s questioning attitude, often brought it
into conflict with the traditional teachings
of the Catholic Church and Medieval
thinking.
Medieval Art
• Artists depicted
subjects in an
unrealistic two-
dimensional style
to indicate the
importance of the
soul over the
body.
 Renaissance Art
• Use of oil paints
• 3-D and realism
were the new
techniques of the
Renaissance.
 Characteristics of Renaissance
Art
• Three dimensional
• Realistic
• Lifelike
• Influenced by Greco-Roman
culture
 Italian Renaissance Artists
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Michelangelo
• Raphael
• Donatello
 Leonardo da Vinci
• Da Vinci was
considered the
“Renaissance
Man”
• Was a painter,
sculptor,
inventor, and a
scientist.
The Last Supper
 Raphael
Rather young artist.
Was mostly a
painter but did
dabble in
architecture, helping
• Self-Portrait to start the plans for
St. Peter’s in Rome.
 Michelangelo
• Like Leonardo
was considered a
“Renaissance
Man”
• Painter, sculptor,
architect, scientist
 David
• Considered
to be one of
the finest
sculptures
ever.
• Considered
better
sculptor than
painter
Michelangelo

• The Sistine
Chapel in Rome
St. Peter’s
 Donatello
• Sculptor in Florence
– Early part of Renaissance

John the Baptist

•
 Renaissance Writers
• Began to use the vernacular (vernacular =
the native language) instead of classical
Latin.
• Machiavelli, who wrote The Prince a
handbook for behavior.
 Machiavelli

• Machiavelli was a political philosopher

• The Prince advised kings how to rule.
• In Machiavelli way of thinking, there are no means in
which the end does not justify (The end justifies the
means)
• Medieval (Middle
Ages) or Renaissance?

• Why/how do you
know?
 The Renaissance Moves North
• Because of the plague, it was not
until 1450 did northern Europe
enjoy the economic growth that
helped support the Renaissance
in Italy.
• Northern artists and writers
imitated Italian styles while
adding new methods and ideas
of their own.
• As a result of the printing press,
books became more available
and people became more literate.
 Humanism in Europe
• Northern Humanists
stressed education and
classical learning,
however, unlike the Italian
humanists, they
emphasized religious
themes.
• They believed that the
revival should be used to
bring about religious and
moral reform.
• Though Northern
Renaissance thinkers
emphasized religious
themes, many artists in
the North tended to
paint very common
scenes
 JanVan Eyck
Portrait of Giovanni
Arnolfini and his Wife
(detail)
Bruegel: Peasant Wedding
 Shakespeare
• The best known
Renaissance writer
was William
Shakespeare.
• Between 1590 and
1613 he wrote 37
plays that are still
preformed around
the world.
 The Printing Revolution
• In 1456, Johann Gutenberg
printed the bible using
movable metal type on a
machine called a Printing
Press.
• Printed books became
cheap and easier to
produce than hand copies.
• Now, readers gained
access to broad range of
knowledge (Medicine to
Religion)
• The printing press would
greatly contribute to the
Protestant Reformation.