Transcript Do Now: Why is this Funny?

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Much of
Medieval art
appears
unconcerned
with the
accurate
representation
of reality.
This art serves more to
reveal the underlying
religious Truth, as
understood by the
artist and/or his/her
patron, rather than to
reflect reality as we
know it on a daily
basis.
Many Renaissance
scholars looked to
the past for
inspiration.
They studied the
works of the
ancient Greeks
and Romans.
In the works of the classics they found a spirit
similar to theirs.
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that valued innovation in this world.
rather than looking forward to the next world
after death.
Humanists believed that by
studying the classics, they
could understand people and
the world better.
One humanist wrote,
“To each species of creature
has been allotted a peculiar and
instinctive gift. To horses
galloping, to birds flying,
comes naturally. To man only
is given the desire to learn.”
I. Why in Italy at this Time?
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Revival of Commerce and
Town Building was more
intense in Italy
Feudalism had less of a grip
on Italy
The Pope and lords
competing for control of
Italy were losing influence
Presence of antiquity was
stronger in Italy than
elsewhere in Europe
I. Why in Italy at this Time?
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Crusades creates a desire for trade goods from the
Middle East
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Northern Italian traders will satisfy this need
Fall of Constantinople
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Christian scholars leave Greece for Italy
Banking and Credit established
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Record Keeping
Knights Templar
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Crusader warrior monks who swore to protect pilgrims
journeying to the Holy Land
Develop huge network of Knights and Templar houses
throughout Europe
Amass a huge fortune
 Travelers would turn in their money in exchange
for a cryptic note
 Whenever the traveler needed money, he went to a
Templar house and presented the note
 The Knight would withdraw the money and
rewrite the balance in code on the note
II. European Economic Recovery
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Dramatic recovery of
European commerce
Important industries flourish
in Northern Italy
The significance of printing
and mining as new
industries
The fifteenth-century
banking empire of the
Medici family in Florence
III. Renaissance Economics
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Profit-making became more
important than Church
doctrine
To overcome guilt, profitmakers indulge in
philanthropy
Influence of guilds declining
High profits led to economic
diversification
III. Renaissance Economics (cont)
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“Cottage Industry”
Art became the way to
advertise economic
success
Intensified commercial
competition created the
need to be efficient
V. Renaissance Politics (cont)
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Niccolo Machiavelli (14691527)
-- “The Prince”
The goal of the prince must
be power
Cynical view of human
nature
Fear is a better motivator
than affection
Politics as the art of
deception
V. Renaissance Politics
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Same pattern and problems
as those of the Greek citystates
Inter-city warfare led to new
advances in diplomacy
-- “balance of power”
Northern Italian
“communes”
The Peace of Lodi (1454)
Social Class
Nobility
Land owning aristocracy
have owned land for generations
Live in the countryside
Peasants work the land
Have the right past
Merchants
New Rich who make $$$ via trade
Mucho Dinero!
Nobility hates the Merchant class
Because they think they are just as cool as the
nobility
Merchants want to protect their wealth
Enter government
Marry into the nobility
Show common people how cool they are
Commission and donate works of art to their
cities
Fountains
Statues
Frescoes
Play writes
Social Class
Artisans
Cobblers, Coopers, smiths,
shopkeepers
Workers
No skill
At the mercy of your boss
If he did not feel like paying
you, you were not paid
Better than being a peasant!
Donatello was an Italian sculptor, from
Florence, in the later Middle Ages.
He brought a new flexibility and
humanity to his statues.
Not all there?
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Donatello was also one of the first
premadonna’s of modern times
He would demand certain
accommodations
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Instead of being told what to do
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He was so passionate about
his statues that he would
smash them rather than sell
them to ignorant clients.
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He was also seen yelling at his
sculptures as he worked on them
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Yelling “SPEAK, DAMN YOU
SPEAK!”
• Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 in the
village of Vinci.
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Leonardo began his career working for a master
painter in Florence.
By 1478, Leonardo left his master and set up his
own workshop.
The most famous painting in the
world.
Mona Lisa is famous for her
facial expression and the
subtlety of the transitions of
tone and color.
Many researchers have tried
to explain why the smile is
seen so differently by
people.
The explanations range from
scientific theories about
human vision to curious
supposition about Mona
Lisa's identity and feelings.
His Last Supper shows clearly the different
feelings of Jesus and his followers.
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Medieval depictions
focused on the message
of the work itself.
Christian artists
depicted a somber event
that emphasized the
piety of the participants
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As indicated by the halos
around Jesus and his
disciples.
A opposed to Pastaferianism
Leonardo brought humanity to this event by
showing the disciples conversing as if they were at
dinner…which they were.
He would sketch real people as examples
for his artwork.
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Leonardo was truly a
“Renaissance Man,”
skilled in many
fields.
He was a scientist
and an inventor as
well as an artist.
He made notes and
drawings of
everything he saw.
Leonardo invented clever machines, and even
designed imitation wings that he hoped would
let a person fly like a bird.
Michelangelo Buonarroti of Florence
was one of the greatest artists of all
time.
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Michelangelo was a
“Renaissance Man” of
many talents.
He was a sculptor, a
painter, and an
architect.
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Michelangelo’s
paintings cover the
ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel, the building
where new popes
have been selected for
more than five
hundred years.
Michelangelo’s painting illustrates the Book of
Genesis, with scenes that span from the Creation
to the Flood.
Michelangelo felt that he was a more developed
sculptor than a painter, but he accepted the offer.
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The project was very
difficult.
Working alone,
Michelangelo had to
lie on his back atop
high scaffolding
while he painted the
vast ceiling.
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The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
is one of the world’s most
famous paintings,
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but not everyone was happy with
Michelangelo’s work.
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Cardinal Biagio de Cesena noted
that the crowd of more than 300
human figures would be more
appropriate in a wine shop than
in a papal chapel.
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Michelangelo responded to this
criticism by adding a portrait of
Biagio among the figures of the
damned in the scene of the Last
Judgment.
“The School of Athens, monumentally immortalizing
the great philosophers, is unrivalled in its classic
grace.”
“While we may term other works paintings, those of Raphael are
living things; the flesh palpitates, the breath comes and goes, every
organ lives, life pulsates everywhere.”
Raphael died of a fever on his
37th birthday.
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His funeral mass was
celebrated at the
Vatican
his Transfiguration
was placed at the
head of the bier
and his body was
buried in the
Pantheon in Rome.
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The Renaissance patrons wanted art that showed joy in human
beauty and life’s pleasures.
Renaissance art is more lifelike than in the art of the Middle
Ages.
Renaissance artists studied perspective, or the differences in
the way things look when they are close to something or far
away.
The artists painted in a way that showed these differences. As
a result, their paintings seem to have depth.