The Italian Renaissance

As the Renaissance began, three Italian city-states were the centers of Italian political, economic, and social life.

Rebirth
Rediscovery of the literature and

philosophy of classical Greece and Rome

Marks the beginning of Modern History Focus shifts from the study of God to the study of humanity

The Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance lasted from 1350 to 1550. It was a time period in which Europeans believed they had witnessed a rebirth of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. Characteristics of the Renaissance: The Renaissance was mainly led by an urban society, and Italian city-states came to dominate political, social, and economic life.

The Italian Renaissance

The Renaissance witnessed the rise of a secular (worldly) viewpoint of wealth and material items. The Renaissance occurred during a time of recovery from the disasters of the fourteenth century: the plague, political instability, and a decline of Church power.

Improvements in business methods and practices

Specialization of labor by region Standard of Living increased - people had more

money to spend People changed way of thinking: property was now a source of income; a way to get money so they could buy other things = CAPITAL CAPITALISM: An economic system in which private individuals or companies, not the government, own businesses; goal: to make a profit



Location Wealth of powerful merchants Political structure: independent citystates Heritage of Rome Banking Florence: Medici Family

Lorenzo deMedici

The Italian Renaissance

Milans location as a crossroads between the coastal Italian cities and the Alpine passes made it a very wealthy state. With the lack of centralized power, Italian city-states such as Milan, Venice, and Florence played a crucial role in Italian economics and politics.

 Popes and emperors competed for power within

the cities City-states became independent republics Balance of Power: system whereby any state threatened its neighbors, others joined together to oppose it Despots: rulers who gained power by force and trickery Each city-state had own laws Constant plots to overthrow leaders Needed to be clever and able



Writer, diplomat, scholar, civic humanist THE PRINCE Ways that rulers should act The end justifies the means

The Italian Renaissance

The Renaissance also stressed the individual ability of human beings. Well-rounded individuals, such as Leonardo da Vinci, emphasized the belief that individuals could create a new social ideal.

Italian Renaissance Humanism

Humanism, based on study of the classics, revived an interest in ancient Latin; but many authors wrote great works in the vernacular.

Focus on the individual and the beliefs that humans can improve the society Civic humanism: individual achievement and education only fully achieved by people using their talents and abilities in service to their cities

Italian Renaissance Humanism

The Italian author Dante and the English author Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in VERNACULAR, (everyday language)making vernacular literature very popular. Dantes masterpiece was the story of the souls journey to salvation, called the Divine Comedy. Chaucers The Canterbury Tales used English dialect to tell the tale of pilgrims journeying to the tomb of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury, England.

Italian Renaissance Humanism

A key intellectual movement of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanists studied the classics, grammar, rhetoric, poetry, moral philosophy, and history. Petrarch (the Father of Humanism) believed that intellectuals had a duty to live an active civic life and put their study of the humanities to the states service. The humanist emphasis on classical Latin led to an increase in the writings of scholars, lawyers, and theologians.

Italian Renaissance Art

The Renaissance produced great artists and sculptors such as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci.

Italian Renaissance Art

Renaissance artists sought to imitate nature through a human-focused worldview. Frescos created the illusion of three dimensions, leading to a new realistic style of painting. Realistic portrayal of the individual, especially nude depictions, became one of the chief aims of Italian Renaissance art.

Giotto: first artist to make figures appear to move, to be alive; depict things they see in nature

Raphael was a well known artist for his paintings of the Madonna. His works reveal a world of balance, harmony, and order. Raphael: painted contemporary, Biblical, and classical scenes

Donatello: Wanted to show the human body in motion

Italian Renaissance Art

Advances in understanding human movement and anatomy led to advances in Renaissance sculpture and architecture. The final era of Italian Renaissance painting (1490 to 1520) is known as the High Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci mastered the art of realistic painting and sought to advance to idealized forms of nature and humans.

How did Renaissance painters and sculptors portray humans? A. As masters of nature B. With religious overtones C. Realistic and human centered D. Powerful and strong

Ideal Renaissance Man: universal man, well versed in the classics, a man of action one who could respond to all situations Traits Aristocrat/member of wealthy class Well-mannered, witty Educated in good literature; painting; music Well-formed (physically fit) Art of war: a brave and able soldier

Michelangelo was a painter, sculptor, and architect. His depictions of idealized humans are meant as a reflection of divine beauty. Sculptor, painter, architect, and poet Patron: Lorenzo de Medici Sistine Chapel: commissioned by Pope Julius II Sculptures: Moses, the Pieta, David

Engineer, inventor, painter, sculptor Ideal Renaissance Man Paintings: Mona Lisa, The Last Supper

Prelude to Reformation
During the second half of the fifteenth century, adherents of Christian Humanism sought to reform the Catholic Church. Christian humanists believed that humans could improve themselves and thus improve society.

Education travel made easier Printing Press

Johannes Gutenberg Movable metal type to print books Multiple copies, quicker and cheaper Gutenberg Bible

Christian humanism: applied humanist principles to religious rather than secular topics Desiderius Erasmus (The Netherlands): The Praise of Folly Erasmus thought that external forms of medieval religion such as pilgrimages, fasts, and relics were unnecessary and that inner piety derived from religious philosophy was more important.

Sir Thomas More (England): Utopia

Erasmus

Elizabethan Age: Queen Elizabeth William Shakespeare: sonnets, plays Christopher Marlowe: The Tragicall History of Dr. Faustus

Believed that with creativity human beings

could control their own destinies and the world around them

Art depicted more down-to-earth views of humanity Albrecht Durer: German; used woodcuts and engravings Pieter Brueghel: Flemish; landscapes and common peasants