Transcript Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance

Italy: Birthplace of the
Renaissance
Middle Ages (500-1500 CE): war & plague
People questioned institutions unable to
relieve suffering.
Church
Northern Italy
I. Origins of Italian Ren.
1300-1600: Renaissance Prd.
“Rebirth”
Art & learning
Goal: revive the culture of classical Greece &
Rome
Why Italy?
1. Ruins of Roman Emp. served as reminders
2. Roman tradition lived on in popes
3. Crusades & trade w/Af. & S.W. Asia
New ideas
Byz. Civ. (preserved Greek & Roman learning)
4. Arab & Af. developments in medicine &
science
A. City-States
Trade & industry led to growth of large
city-states in N. Italy
N. Italy = urban…rest of Euro. = rural
Intellectual rev.
Florence, Rome, Venice, Milan, Naples
Educated, wealthy merchants
1300s: plague killed 60% of pop.
(economic changes)
merchants pursued other interests (art)
B. Merchants & the Medici
Wealthy merchant class developed
Dominated politics
Since 1200s, Florence had republican govt.
During Ren. = the Medici family rose to rule
Banks throughout Italy
Cosimo de Medici (wealthiest Euro. of time)
1434: won control of Florence thru $$$$
1464: died
1469: Lorenzo de Medici (“Lorenzo the
Magnificent”) came to power
C. Looking to Greece & Rome
Ren. scholars wanted to return to learning of
Greeks & Romans
Inspired by Roman ruins
Studied ancient Latin manuscripts (monasteries)
1453: Fall of Const.
II. Classical & Worldly Views
Manuscripts influenced scholars
w/classical ideas
New outlook on life & art
A. The Humanities
1300s: interest in classical Greek & Roman
literature
Medieval scholars = tried to bring everything
into harmony w/Christian doctrine
Italian scholars = studied the ancient world to
explore its great achievements
Stressed the study of grammar, rhetoric, history, &
poetry (“humanities”) --- “Humanists”
Humanists – sought to discover how
things worked (logic)
Emphasized education
Viewed existence not only as prep. for life after
death, but also as a joy in itself
Individual achievement (poet & scientist)
B. Worldly Pleasures
Humanists – you can enjoy life w/out
offending God
Material luxuries, good music, & fine foods
Ren. Society was secular (most were
devout Catholics)
C. Patrons of the Arts
Clergy spent a lot of $$$$ on art (patrons)
Other patrons = merchants & wealthy fams.
Demonstrated their importance
D. The Renaissance Man
All educated people were to create art
The ideal individual strove to master many
areas of study (“universal man”)
“Renaissance Man”
Baldassare Castiglione (1478-1529)
1528: wrote “The Book of the Courtier”
Explained how gentlemen/women ought to act in
polite society
E. The Renaissance Woman
Upper-class women also knew the
classics & were charming
Expected to inspire art…NOT CREATE IT
Better educated than M.A. women
III. Italian Renaissance Artists
Artists (supported by patrons) –N. Italy
Artistic styles changed during Ren.
Medieval paintings: stressed the world beyond
everyday life---religious subjects
Did not look realistic (subjects differed in size)
Artists not interested in drawing attention to human
nature
Ren. paintings: stressed realism
Realistic & lifelike human figures
Artists accurately depicted beauty of
human form & natural world
Created illusion of distance & depth on flat
canvas
Perspective: distant objects smaller than
those in foreground to create depth
The School of Athens by Raphael Sanzio
Filippo Brunelleschi
Ren. Architect
Discovered linear perspective—how the eye
perceives distant objects as smaller than close
ones
Cathedral of Florence
Giotto (1276-1337)
Began realistic art in Florence
Used shades of light & dark to give depth
Mesaccio (1401-1428)
Made biblical figures’ faces look more solid &
real (human emotions)
Late 1400s – early 1500s (High Ren)
1. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
“I wish to work miracles”
Painter, sculptor, engineer, architect, scientist
Notebook possessed detailed sketches of
inventions and of the human anatomy helped
The Last Supper by da Vinci
Mona Lisa by da Vinci
2. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
Painter & sculptor
1501: sculpted David and Moses
1508-1512: commissioned by Pope Julius II to
paint ceiling of Sistine Chapel
9 expressive scenes inspired by Old Testament
David by Michelangelo
Moses by Michelangelo
The Creation of Man by Michelangelo
Subject: God’s creation of Adam, but focus
is on humanity of Adam
Adam is portrayed as being weak, while God is
supremely powerful
Shows concerns w/religious themes (MA art),
but depicts figures human & realistic
People were religious but also believed in the
dignity of man
3. Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520)
Influenced by Leo. & Mich.
Commissioned to beautify Vatican (painted
frescoes in papal chambers)
The Madonna
Marriage of the Virgin by Raphael
Notice the linear
perspective used
here =======>
IV. The Italian Ren. in Literature
A. Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374)
“Father of Ren. Humanism”
Wrote sonnets (14-line poems)
About Laura?
Obsessed w/the classics
Appreciation for world beauty & his accomplishments
Wrote about moral conduct
B. Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375)
Friend of Petrarch
Humanist
Wrote the Decameron
Series of realistic, off-color stories
Presents tragic & comic views of life
 C. Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)
 Diplomat & historian
 1498: Inspired by Cesare Borgia (Romagna)
 1513: wrote The Prince (handbook for rulers)
 Described political realities, not ideals
 Rejected restraints on power of govt.
 People are selfish & corrupt
 Put the good of the state ahead of
the good of the people
 Not concerned w/what was morally
right, only w/what was politically
effective
 Also wrote Discourses on Livy
 Was a Humanist