Italy: The birthplace of the

Renaissance
Renaissance means rebirth
Advantages
Urban Centers
Overseas trade encouraged city growth
People exchange ideas
Plague forces merchants to peruse other things like art.
Wealthy merchant class
Success depended upon individual achievement
Involved in politics
Medici family was very powerful and supported the arts
Heritage
Roman ruins around so inspiration was easy to find
Studied many preserved works
Classical Ideas
Humanism
Understanding of values and the need for continuation of
those traditions
Humanities subjects become popular
Enjoyment of life
Idea that you can enjoy life without offending God
Eat food, wear expensive clothes, live lavishly
Basic spirit was secular or worldly and concerned with
the here and now
Patrons of the Arts
People were financially supporting artists
Renaissance man/women
A person who mastered many areas
Leonardo da Vinci- A
Renaissance Man
From his notebooks of over 5000 pages
we know that da Vinci was an
Artist
Sculptor
Scientist
Architect
Engineer
Inventor
Leonardo the Scientist
Studied many
topics such as
anatomy,
zoology, botany,
geology, and
others
Fascinated by the
study of facial
features


Leonardo the Inventor

Leonardo wanted to
create "new machines"
for a "new world
He came up with loads
of different ideas,
including the bicycle, a
helicopter, an auto-
mobile, and many
military weapons



Leonardos first idea for a catapult
Leonardos Helicopter
The First Tank
Leo-chute
The Northern Renaissance
Late Beginning
Moved slowly to the north
North had been recovering from the plague
Ideas spread
As Italy and the north traded the ideas spread
North was dominated by Monarchs who
sponsored art
Artists used social reform and religious ideas
in their works
The Spread of Ideas
Printing Press invented by Johann
Gutenberg
Allowed easier printing
Books were cheaper
Faster transfer of ideas
Higher literacy
Artist & Writer Assignment
You will create two posters (one on the front
and one on the back).
You will work in groups of four and each
person will be assigned an artist and a writer.
The poster must include:
Name of person
Country they are from
If they are artist or writer
Name of their famous work(s)
A picture (artists = picture of famous work, writer =
picture of writer)
You should be able to get everything from the
book

Renaissance Writers & Artists
Writers
Giovanni Boccaccio
Niccolo Machiavelli
Thomas More
William Shakespeare
Artists
Michelangelo
Masaccio
Leonardo da Vinci
Raphael


Warm Up
Who do you think was the most influential
artist during the Renaissance? Why.