Italian Renaissance - WordPress.com · THE RISE OF THE INDIVIDUAL •In both Renaissance philosophy...
Transcript of Italian Renaissance - WordPress.com · THE RISE OF THE INDIVIDUAL •In both Renaissance philosophy...
ITALIAN RENAISSANCEThe building of modern Europe.
WHY ITALY?
No, really: why does the Renaissance begin in Italy?
Why not France? Or Russia?
DEFINING TERMS
• Renaissance→ literally, “rebirth”
• Referring to a return to an emphasis on Classical Greek and Roman ideas
and artistic forms following the Middle Ages
• Renaissance primarily influences the elite in terms of:
• Art
• Literacy
• Politics
• Architecture
• Poor people less effected
WHY ITALY?
• Increase in commerce and trade, growth of towns and cities
at the end of the Middle Ages
• Feudalism not as strong in Italy
• The ruins of Rome were RIGHT THERE, reminding people of
the past on a daily basis
WHY ITALY?
• Italian city-states became rich due to trade:
• FLORENCE
• Venice
• Genoa
• Milan
• Trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe
• Independent city-states primarily governed as REPUBLICS by
wealthy merchants
• NO KING! → wealth was more important than nobility
WHY ITALY?
• Profit-making > Church doctrine, particularly with regards to
banking
• Medieval Catholic Church prohibited lending money at interest → usury (a
sin)
• Merchants and bankers who became wealthy looked to lessen their sin
through donations to the Church
• Often took the form of gifts in art, or new buildings
• Best example: the Medici in Florence
• Wealth is demonstrated through the funding of ART and
ARCHITECTURE
INTELLECT AND ART
New ideas.
INTELLECT AND ART: SECULARISM
• Secularism → emphasis on WORLDLY, non-religious matters
• Develops as influence of merchants and non-Church officials gain
power
• Evident in the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli
• First major theorist on political science
• Wrote The Prince for Lorenzo de Medici → guide book on how to
get and hold power
• Example of realpolitik→ do what is NECESSARY, not necessarily
what is RIGHT
NEW WAYS OF THINKING
Humanism and Individualism on the Rise
HUMANIST THOUGHT
• Humanism → emphasis on studying the
humanities, academic disciplines that
focus on human culture
• Ancient and modern languages
• Literature
• Philosophy
• Religion
• Music
• Art
• Emphasized the importance of the
individual
• Encouraged the study of classical
writings
THE RISE OF THE INDIVIDUAL
• In both Renaissance philosophy and art, the individual and dignity of
humans is celebrated
• Visible in Renaissance art through the idealized human form (ex. Michelangelo’s
David or da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man)
• Individuals begin taking credit for their work → we know the name of
artists and writers and architects in a way that we don’t during the
Middle Ages
• Invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg (1439) allows
for individuals to:
• Spread ideas swiftly and widely
• Be exposed to new ideas and incorporate new ideas