Transcript Characteristics of Italian City States PP

Characteristics of Italian City States

Urban Centers
– City state
prospered while
Europe remained
rural
– Late 1300’s
Florence , Venice
and Milan had pop.
Of 100,000

Wealthy merchants
– No kings – wealthy
merchants formed
oligarchies to rule
city-states
– Wealthy families
controlled political,
economical and
artistic life
Florence and the Medici

Florence
– During 15th cent.
Florence was the
epic center of the
Renaissance
– Success was based
on wealth earne in
textile, merchants
and banking

Medici
– Dominated 15th
cent. Florence
– Earned $ as
bankers: Cosimo,
Piero and Lorenzo
the Magnificent.
– Florence Ren.
Peaked during
Lorenzo.
Renaissance Spirit

Medieval mindset
– God created world to
prepare people for
salvation – individual
was insignificant
– Art and architecture
was to glorify God not
self

New celebration of
individual
– Wealth was worked for
not inherited
– Artist and writers
wanted to be known –
Fame
– Portrait panting and
autobiographies
promote individual –
“patrons”
– Stressed “virtu” using
your talents and
personality to potential
Cont.
– Giovanni pico della
Miranda celebrated human
greatness in “Oration on
the Dignity of Man”

Scholarship and the love
for Classical learning
– Humanist, Petrarch called
Medieval pd. The Dark
Ages.
– Humanists studied Greek
and Roman lit. Studying
the Classics would lead to
a more practical
understanding of the
human
– Liberal arts, the vernacular
and preserving Greek and
Roman manuscripts
– Lorenzo Valla discovered
that the Donation of
Constantine was a forgery
Cont.

New Secular spirit
– Medieval – spiritual
values and
salvation
– Ren. Culture was
interested in
material
possessions, music,
food, art
Education and the ideal Courtier

Humanist Education
– Medieval – to
understand God,
Humanist – to
understand human
nature
– Opened schools that
taught Rom. Hist.,
Greek Phil. And Latin
– Would benefit future
business, political and
military leaders

Baldassare Castiglone
1478-1529
– The individual strove to
be come the “universal
man” excelled in many
areas
– The Courtier he
explained how men and
women could become
accomplished courtiers
– Polite, charming, witty,
able to dance, write
poetry, sing, play
music. Be graceful and
strong
Castiglione cont.

Perfect court lady
– Well educated
– Charming
– Should not seek
fame
– Expected to inspire
poetry and art but
rarely create it.
Machiavelli and the Prince

Turmoil in Italy
– Golden age ended with
death of Lorenzo TM 1492
leaving no strong leader
– 1494 King Charles VIII of
France invaded Italychallenge by Ferdinand of
Spain
– Resulted in the HabsburgValois Wars.
– Involving all Italian city
states
– Diplomacy and war
become keys to survival

Niccolo Machiavelli
– Was a Florentine diplomat,
politician and philosopher.
The founder of modern
political science
– Is appalled by the
devastation of the warItaly is without a head,
without order, torn in
pieces, overrun, and
abandoned to destruction.
She prays God to send
someone to rescue her
from the barbarous
cruelties
– Wrote The Prince to
advise Italian leaders on
the ruthless statecraft
needed to unite Italy

Qualities of a
successful Prince
– Pessimistic view of
human nature.
– Read selections of
The Prince and The
Courtier. Follow
directions.

Test Tip.
– The Prince is an
often asked topic
on the APEruo
exam. You will
want to be familiar
with his cynical
view of human
nature and ruthless
approach to
leadership.
Italian Renaissance Art

Patrons
– Artists were
commissioned by the
church, guilds and
wealthy families
– Art became a symbol of
power – patrons used
art to display their
wealth and fame.

Characteristics of Ren.
Art
– Perspective

depth
– Chairoscuro

Light and shade
illusion
– Pyramid style

Symmetry and
balance-3D
– Classical forms and
Christian subjects

Tried to revive classical
art, mixed classical
with Christian subjects
Test Tip
 You
do not need to memorize a long
list of Renaissance artists and works.
Instead, focus on key masterpieces
that illustrate Renaissance ideals and
the impact of humanism.
Key examples

Leon Battista Alberti,
The West Façade of
Sant’ Andrea
– Broke with medieval
traditions, no statues
– Roman triumphal
arch/Corinthian pillars
– a break with Christian
churches, combining
ancient forms with
Christian uses.
Michelangelo, David


The pose resembles
statues from Greece
and Rome.
Like many classical
statues, David is a
nude. Not a serene
statue, David is ready
to face Goliath, note
muscles are tense
ready for battle.
Raphel, The School of Athens
Three dimensional
space
 Plato and Aristotle
dominate the
center
 Used
contemporaries

– Leonardo da Vinci
– himself
Women and the Renaissance

The debate about
women
– The Renaissance
coincided with a
debate about
women (querelle
des femmes)
– Humanist scholars
and others debated
women’s character,
nature and role in
society

Christine De Pizan
– 1364-1430
– The first femenist
– Prolific writer-first
woman in European
history to earn a
living as a writer
– Wrote a history of
famous women to
refute the
masculine myth
Women cont.

Castiglione and the
perfect women
– Should be attractive
– Well educated
– Able to paint, dance
and play a musical
instrument
– Was not to participate
in political, artistic or
literary affairs
– Should be an attractive
ornament for her
husband

Isabella D’Este
– 1475-1539
– Most famous
Renaissance women
– From the ruling family
Ferrara married the
ruler of Mantua
– An art patron, collected
from the great artists
– Becoming an art patron
was most socially
acceptable for a well
educated Renaissance
women