Transcript File

Society and the Arts
Patrons
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Patrons are people who paid
artists to produce works
They played an important role
in promoting the arts during the
Renaissance
Patrons included members of
the new wealthy merchant
class
They also included members of
the government and the
Church
Artists made works to decorate
private homes or to display in
public places
Q: What do the arts tell about a
society?
Painting Pt. 1
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Many artists found inspiration
in the art of the ancient Greeks
and Romans
During the Middle Ages, most
art had religious themes
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This continued through the
Renaissance
Because they were influenced
by humanist thinkers, however,
these religious subjects began
to be interpreted in different
and new ways
The Renaissance also saw a
growing interest in portraits
and landscapes
Painting Pt. 2
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Renaissance painters aimed to
have naturalism and beauty in
their works
Natural World: symbolized by
the peacock
Light and shadow: on the faces
of the angel and the saint, on the
ground
Texture and pattern: on the
carpet, on Mary and the angel's
clothing, the flooring, decorative
surface
Realistic details: child in left side
of painting peeking around the
corner
Elegance: Mary's hands; the
angel's hands
The Annunciation with Saint Emidius by
Carlo Crivelli, 1486
Madonna & Child Paintings
Which is Medieval & which is
Renaissance?
Group Assignment /12
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Examine the two paintings on page 72 of your
textbook
Fill in the following chart AND add one category of
your own making and complete
Answer the two follow up questions
Medieval Painting
Renaissance
Painting
Background
Emotions
Pose
Insert own
1)category
How is
Renaissance painting different from medieval painting?
2) How does the change in painting styles show a change in
worldview? Explain the change in worldview these paintings
exemplify.
Architecture
“An architect should be a good writer, a skillful
craftsmen, versed in geometry and optics,
expert at figure, acquainted with history,
informed on the principles of natural and moral
philosophy, somewhat of a musician, not
ignorant of the law and of physics, nor of the
motions, laws and relations to each other of the
heavenly bodies.”
- The Architecture of Marcus Vitruvius Pollio in
Ten Books
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This comes from the writings of a Roman
engineer and architect
His book De Architectura was
rediscovered during the Renaissance
It influenced Renaissance architects to
include features of classical buildings in
their work
They raised the status of their profession
from skilled labourer to artist
Sculpture
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Sculptors in the Middle Ages were
seen as craftspeople rather than
artists
They were part of the construction
team for cathedrals
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They carved figures and other
decorations that told biblical stories
They did not generally sign their
work
The role of the artist changed
dramatically during the Renaissance
We know that wealth raised the status
of merchants and business people;
the artistic genius raised the status of
artists
Sculptors like Michelangelo become
celebrities known internationally for
their talent
Michelangelo's Pieta depicts
Mary holding the body of
Jesus.
“One morning he [Michelangelo] had
gone to the place to where it stands
and observed a number of Lombards
[people from Lombardy, Italy] who
were praising it loudly. One of them
asked another the name of the
sculptor, and he replied, “Our Gobbo
of Milan.” Michelangelo said nothing,
but he resented the injustice of
having his work attributed to another,
and that night he shut himself in the
chapel with a light and his chisels
and carved his name on it.”
- Giorgio Vasari
Q: How does the above story
highlight the Renaissance
view of the individual?
Q: What does the sculpture
suggest about the
Renaissance worldview?
Literature
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In the early Renaissance,
writers focused on translating
the works of Roman and Greek
writers or copying their styles
Books that were written in the
language people spoke, such
as French, Italian and English,
became more accessible
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The vernacular
Humanism influenced writers
to focus on expressing their
thoughts and emotions
Oh blessed by the day, the month, the year
The season and the time, the hour, the instant
The gracious countryside, the place where I was Petrarch was the leading poet
Struck by thoes two lovely eyes that bound me;
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He is most famous for
And blessed be the first sweet agony
I felt when I found myself bound to Love,
hundreds of love
The bow and all the arrows that have pierced me,
poems to a woman
The wounds that reach the bottom of my heart.
named Laura
Christine de Pisan
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Christine de Pisan was a humanist
writer
She was one of very few women to
receive a humanist education
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She was educated at the court of
King Charles V of France
She was left a widow at the age of 25
with three children to support – she
decided to be a writer
She became Europe's first professional
female writer
She wrote poetry, history, essays and
biographies
She often protested the way women
were portrayed in medieval literature
In The City of Women she argued that
men and women should be judged not
on their gender, but on their abilities
and virtues
Homework Assignment
Q: Create a web to show how humanist ideas
were expressed during the Renaissance in each
of the four arts discussed
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Have at least two points per art form.
Architecture
Painting
Humanist Ideas
Reflected in Art
Sculpture
Literature