The Renaissance

THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

1. The Italian Renaissancea. Causes

i. Increased trade with Asia and other regions as a result of the Crusades

ii. Growth of large, wealthy city-states in Italy

iii. Renewed interest in the Classical learning of the Ancient Greece and Rome

iv. Rise of rich and powerful merchants, who became patrons of the arts

v. Increased desire for scientific and technical knowledge

vi. Desire to beautify cities

b. Humanismi. Scholars began to think about the

characteristics of a good educationii. Rhetoric, grammar, poetry, history, Latin and

Greek1. Became known as the humanities and gave use

to the movement known as humanismiii. Humanist emphasized individual

accomplishmentiv. 3 writers who contributed to the movement

1. Dante Alighieri2. Giovianni Boccacio3. Franceso Petrarch

c. Secular Writersi. Focus was secular- they had a

worldly rather than a spiritual focus

ii. Baldassare Castiglione1. Wrote “The Courtier”

a. Describes how gentlemen and women should act during the Renaissance

b. Book suggests 4 ideasi. Speak of serious

subjects as well as amusing ones

ii. Know Latin and Greekiii. Well acquainted with

poetry and historyiv. Be able to write prose

as well as poetry

iii. Niccolo Machiavelli1. Was a political

philosopher and statesman

2. Experiences shaped his view on how governments should rule

3. Wrote “The Prince”a. Encourages harsh

treatment of citizens and rival states

b. Advises rulers to separate moral from politics

c. Insists a ruler must do whatever is necessary to maintain power

d. Sciencei. Nicholas

Copernicus1. Challenges the

church’s idea about nature

2. Polish astronomer3. Suggested that

the sun sat at the center of the universe, orbited by planets and stars

ii. Galileo Galilei1. Italian

astronomer2. Wrote that the

earth orbited the sun

3. Placed under house arrest by church officials

e. Patronsi. The Medici

1. A wealthy, powerful family that ruled Florence and supported the arts

2. Lorenzo de Medici

a. Supported some of the most talented artist of the day

2. Italian Renaissance Artistsa. Leonardo da

Vincii. Was a painter,

writer, inventor, architect engineer, mathematician, musician, and philosopher

ii. Two famous paintings

1. The Mona Lisa2. The Last Supper

iii. Recorded ideas for building armored tank of a flying machine

iv. Sketches of the human anatomy

v. Designed and built canals

vi. Developed a machine to cut threads in screws

v. Designed the first machine guns

b. Michelangelo Buonarrotii. Two famous

sculptures1. Pieta

a. Communicated themes of grief, love, acceptance and immorality

2. Davidii. Sistine Chapel

1. Scenes from the Old Testament painted on the ceiling

c. Raphaeli. Renowned painter

and architectii. “The School of

Athens”1. Is a fresco (a

painting made on fresh moist, plaster)

2. Shows Plato and Aristotle surrounded by philosophers from the past and present who were admired by the humanists

d. Danoto Bramante

i. Architect who designed St. Peter’s Basilica

THE NORTHERN RENAISSANCE

1. Northern Renaissancea. Hanseatic League

i. A merchant organization that controlled trade throughout Northern Europe

1. Helped ideas of the Italian Renaissance spread to the North

ii. Artists who fled from Italy also helped spread ideas

b. Johannes Gutenburgi. Cast letters of the

alphabet onto metal plates and locked plates into a wooden press

ii. With this text could be printed on both sides of the paper

iii. 1st publication was the Bible

iv. Explosion of printed material quickly spread Renaissance ideas

2. Philosophers and Writingsa. Erasmus

i. Wrote about the need for a pure and simple Christian life, stripped of the rituals and politics of the church on earth

ii. Advised the education of children

iii. Works would fan the flames of the growing discontent with the Roman Catholic Church

iv. Works were later censored and condemned by the Church

b. Sir Thomas Morei. Wrote “Utopia”ii. Contains both

criticism of English government and society and a vision of a perfect society based on reason

c. William Shakespearei. English playwrightii. Inspired by

ancient and contemporary works of literature

iii. Plays helped spread ideas of the Renaissance to a mass audience

d. Christine de Pisani. Italian writerii. Wrote “The City

of Women”1. She discusses

different views of women and their role in society

iii. Championed equality and education for women

3. Artistsa. Albrecht Durer

i. Used the Italian techniques of realism and perspective in his own work

ii. Works exhibited features unique to the northern Renaissance

1. Painted in oils

b. Jan van Eycki. Focused on

landscapes and domestic life

ii. Fused the everyday with the religious through the use of symbolism in paintings

1. A single candle or the light streaming through a window are representations of God’s presence