Transcript File - World History

Italy: Birthplace of the
Renaissance
Setting the Stage

During the late Middle Ages, Europe suffered from
both war and plague. Those who survived wanted to
celebrate life and the human spirit. They began to
question institutions of the Middle Ages, which had
been unable to prevent war or to relieve suffering
brought by the plague. Some people questioned the
Church, which taught Christians to endure suffering
while they awaited their rewards in heaven. In
northern Italy, writers and artists began to express
this new spirit and to experiment with different styles.
These men and women would greatly change how
Europeans saw themselves and their world.
The Renaissance
Explosion in creativity in art, writing
and thought that lasted from 1300 to
1600
 Means rebirth

–
Innovative art and literature styles
– New values- importance of the individual
Why it Started in Italy

Thriving cities
–
–

Wealthy merchant class
–
–

Most of Europe was still rural
Plague allows survivors to demand higher
wages- less business opportunities led people to
get involved in art
Didn’t inherit like nobles- used own skills
Belief in individual achievement grew
Classical heritage of Greece and Rome
–
Wanted to return to learning of the Greeks and
Romans
Classical and Worldly Values
Humanism- movement focused on
human potential and achievements
 Secular- worldly rather than spiritual

–

Focused on here and now
Patrons of the arts- financially
supported artists
The Renaissance Man

A man who excelled in
many fields
–
Should be charming, witty,
well educated in the
classics, dance, sing, play
music, write poetry, be a
skilled rider, wrestler and
swordsman
Renaissance Woman

Should know the classics
and be charming, but
shouldn’t seek fame
–
Expected to inspire art but
rarely create it
The Renaissance Revolutionizes Art
Portrayed religious subjects, but in a
realistic style
 Used perspective- 3-D on flat surfaces
 New emphasis on individuals

The Renaissance Revolutionizes Art

Michelangelo Buonarroti- painter, architect,
sculptor and poet
–
Used realistic style when depicting the human
body
–
Dome of St. Peter’s,
ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel, David
The Renaissance Revolutionizes Art

Donatello- statue of
David (boy who
became a great king)
–
First free-standing nude
sculpture in Europe
since ancient times
The Renaissance Revolutionizes Art
Leonardo da Vincipainter, artist,
inventor and scientist
 Studied muscle
movements and
veins, filled notebooks with observations
and incorporated them in his art

–
Wrote backwards
– Only 17 of his paintings survive today
– Mona Lisa, The Last Supper
The Renaissance Revolutionizes Art

Raphael Sanziostudied Michelangelo
and Leonardo
–
Famous for use of
perspective
– Filled rooms of Pope
Julius II’s library with
paintings- called the
Raphael Rooms
Renaissance Writers Change
Literature
Wrote works that reflected their time
 Wrote for self-expression or to portray
the individuality of their subjects

Renaissance Writers Change
Literature

Francesco Petrarch- poet,
wrote about Laura, his
ideal
–
Little is known of Laura,
except that she died of the
plague in 1348
Sonnet 227

Breeze, blowing that blonde curling hair,
stirring it, and being softly stirred in turn,
scattering that sweet gold about, then
gathering it, in a lovely knot of curls again,
you linger around bright eyes whose loving sting
pierces me so, till I feel it and weep,
and I wander searching for my treasure,
like a creature that often shies and kicks:
now I seem to find her, now I realise
she’s far away, now I’m comforted, now despair,
now longing for her, now truly seeing her.
Happy air, remain here with your
living rays: and you, clear running stream,
why can’t I exchange my path for yours?
Renaissance Writers Change
Literature

Giovanni Boccaccio–
the Decameron- realistic
stories told by a group waiting
on the plague to pass
Florence
Renaissance Writers Change
Literature

Niccolo Machiavelli–
the Prince- how a ruler
can gain and keep
power in spite of his
enemies
– Idea that most people
are selfish and corrupt