Transcript Florence: The Cradle of the Renaissance

Florence: The Cradle of the
Renaissance
Florence

Home to some of
the greatest artists
and thinkers during
the Renaissance

Cultural center of
Europe
Location

Located on the Arno River
◦ Center of trade and commerce
 Center of woolen-cloth trade
 Center of Banking

Drew travelers from all around the world
◦ Came to do business, study art, or to learn

Visitors brought new ideas, goods, and
technologies
◦ These enlivened the city
Cultural Activity

Dominated by the Medici
family
◦ Made wealth through
banking

Could afford to be patrons
◦ Michelangelo lived in the
Medici house

Learned from one another
◦ Sometimes competed with
each other
Advances in Architecture
Influenced by Greek and Roman ruins
 Many families built palazzis

◦ Stores on the ground floor and homes above

Public spaces influenced by humanism

Greatest feat is the cathedral, Duomo di
Santa Maria del Fiore
Advances in Painting and Sculpture
Painting

Perspective
◦ Used to create depth in
the painting
◦ Size of objects showed
distance
◦ Created as lines
converged in the middle
of a painting



Shading created 3-D
figures
Used geometry and
science
Had oil-based paint
Sculpture


Sculptures were free
standing
Showed realism