Transcript Unit 6: 1500-1600 Renaissance

Unit 6: 1500-1600 Renaissance
Day 45: Italian Renaissance
What was the Renaissance?
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Means “rebirth”—peaked at 1500
 Transition from medieval to early modern world
Time of creativity and change
Revived interest in Greek and Roman learning/classics
Humanism: study Greek and Roman culture to
understand own times
 Focus on worldly subjects rather than religion
 Emphasis on individual achievement
 Humanities: grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history
 Francesco Petrarch: Italian Renaissance humanist
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Huge library of Greek/Roman classics (Virgil, Homer)
Italy
Starting point of Renaissance
 Location encouraged trade (new ideas), even
during MA
Had city-states controlled by powerful families
 Florence: Medici family
 Rich merchants/bankers
 Cosimo de’ Medici controlled gov’t 1434
 Lorenzo “the Magnificent:” politician, patron
of arts
 Invited artists, poets, philosophers to
palace
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Art
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Reflects humanist thought
 Paintings set religious figures against classical
Greek/Roman backgrounds
 Portraits of famous contemporary figures
 Sculptors revived classical forms
 (1) Donatello: life-size statue of soldier on
horseback
Roman art: realistic, medieval art: stylized
 Renaissance art returns to realism
 Followed rules of perspective, shading, anatomy
Social Art: blend beauty, utility & societal improvement
 Adopt columns, arches, domes for cathedrals, etc
 Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello
Renaissance Men (2)
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Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
 Artist, inventor, musician, anatomist, engineer, botanist...
 Mona Lisa, Last Supper, flying machines, undersea boats
Ren Men (3)
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Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
 Sculptor, engineer, painter, architect, poet
 “melancholy genius”—work reflects spiritual/artistic struggle
 David, Pieta (20’s), murals in Sistine Chapel in Rome
Ren Men (4)
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Raphael (1483-1520), youngest
 “sweet and gracious nature”
 Style blends Christian and classical
 Portrayals of the Madonna, The School of Athens
Writing
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Philosophy, scholarship, guidebooks
Baldassare Castiglione “The Book of the Courtier”
 Manners, skills, learning, virtue a court member should
have
 Ideal differed for men and women (inner goodness
transcends to outer beauty)
Niccolo Machiavelli “The Prince”
 Didn’t discuss ‘ideal’ ruler, instead focused on real
rulers
 Ends justify the means, do whatever necessary to
achieve goal
 Viewed himself as ‘enemy of oppression/corruption’
 Machiavellian now means ‘using deceit’ in politics
Engineering an Empire
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“Da Vinci’s World”
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Fold paper in half (hot-dog style)
On 1st side, write “Knew”
On 2nd side, write “Learned”
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Fill out completely (1 side) be end of video
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