Transcript 17.1 Italy Birthplace of the Renaissance

Italy: Birthplace of the
Renaissance
Students will explain how the
Renaissance started.
Warm Up: Please tell me 3 things
that make you different then the
person sitting next to you?
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During the late middle ages, Europe suffered
from war and plague
Those who survived wanted to enjoy life
Doubts and Questions
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People start to question the Church which
taught Christians to endure suffering to get to
heaven
Start to question society which blocked social
advancement
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Between the years 1300-1600 there was an
explosion of creativity in Europe
Historians call this period the Renaissance
which means rebirth
In this case a rebirth of art and learning
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Renaissance began in northern Italy and later
spread north
One reason Europe lagged behind is that
France and England were locked in the
Hundred Years’ War
Italy’s Advantages
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Italy had 4 advantages that encouraged the
Renaissance:
1. thriving cities
2. a wealthy merchant class
3. classical heritage of Greece and Rome
4. Islam
Thriving Cities
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The crusades spurred trade and growing city-states in
Italy
Northern Italy was urban while the rest of Europe
was still rural
Cities were places where people shared ideas and
intellectual growth occurred
Bubonic plague killed 60% of the population bringing
economic changes
Survivors could demand higher wages with fewer
workers
A smaller population shrank opportunities for
business expansion
Wealthy Merchant Class
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Wealthy merchants began to pursue other interests
like art
City-states like Milan and Florence collected own
taxes and had its own armies
Merchants were the wealthiest and most powerful
class and dominated politics
Unlike nobles, merchants didn’t inherit social rank
Successfulness depended on own skills
Successful merchants believed they deserved power
and wealth because they worked for it
Classical Heritage of Greece and
Rome
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Renaissance scholars looked down on the arts
of the Middle Ages
Wanted to return to the learning of the Greeks
and Romans
Another reason the Renaissance began in Italy,
artists drew inspirations from the ruins of
Rome
Byzantine scholars brought ancient Greek
manuscripts after the fall of Constantinople
Role of Islamic Civilization
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Provided Italians with advanced
technologies, medical knowledge, and
advancements in math and science.
Created among Italians a greater interest in the
world.
Preserved Ancient Greek and Roman philosophical writings
The Medici’s
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The city of Florence came under power of the
Medici family who made a fortune in banking
Cosimo Medici didn’t run for political office
but controlled the government by giving loans
to council members
His grandson, Lorenzo took power in 1469
after his grandfather died
Assassination Plot
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A rival family was so jealous of the power of
the Medici’s, that they plotted to kill Lorenzo
and his brother, Giuliano
As the Medici attended mass, assassins
murdered his brother at the altar
Lorenzo escaped to a small room and held off
attackers until help arrived
He had the killers brutally and publicly
executed
Classical and Worldly Values
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Scholars became influenced with old ideas of
Greece and Rome
Helped them develop a new outlook on life
Humanism
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Scholars focused on human potential and
achievements
Studied classical texts to understand Greek
values instead of looking for Christian
messages and values
Humanists made subjects like history,
literature and philosophy popular
Enjoyment of Worldly Pleasures
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Some religious people proved they were religious by
wearing rough clothing and eating plain foods
Humanists suggested people could enjoy life without
offending God
In Renaissance Italy, people enjoyed material
luxuries, fine music and tasty foods
Most people remained devout Catholics, but the spirit
of the Renaissance was secular- concern with here
and now attitude
Lived in big mansions, wore expensive clothing, had
big banquets
Closing
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Why did the Renaissance start in Italy? Please
explain in at least 7 sentences.
Patrons of the Arts
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Renaissance popes beautified Rome by
spending huge amounts of money for art
They became patrons of the arts by financially
supporting artists
The Renaissance Man
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All educated people were expected to create
art
The ideal individual tried to master every area
of study
Man who excelled in many fields was praised
as a universal man- later called a Renaissance
Man
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The book, The Courtier by Baldassare Catiglione
taught how to become a Renaissance Man
A young man should be charming, witty, and well
educated in the classics. He should dance, sing, play
music and write poetry. He should be a skilled rider,
wrestler and swordsman. Above all, he should have
self control.
The Renaissance Woman
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According to the same book, upper-class
women should know the classics, be charming,
inspire art, but rarely create it
Upper-class renaissance women were much
more educated than the typical Middle Ages
woman, but had less influence
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Isabella d’Este was one of few who
exercised power
She was born into a ruling family of Italian
city-state Ferrara and married the ruler of
another city-state
She was skilled in politics
When her husband was taken prisoner, she
defended her city-state and won his release
Renaissance Revolutionizes Art
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Artistic styles changed
Often portrayed religious subjects, but would
use realistic styles copied from classic models
Donatello
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Made sculpture more realistic
Carved natural postures and expressions that
reveal personality
David
St. John
Masaccio
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Painter
Rediscovered the technique of perspective, or
3 dimensional
Leonardo da Vinci
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A true Renaissance Man
Was a sculptor, painter, inventor, and
scientist
Very interested in how things worked
Studied how muscles move, veins in leafs
Filled notebook with sketches of new
inventions- even had diagrams of flying
machines
Mona Lisa
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Painted one of the best
known portraits in the
world, the Mona Lisa
Some say her
expression is so real,
and have tried to explain
her thoughts behind her
slight smile
The Last Supper
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Da Vinci also painted The Last Supper, showing the
personalities of Jesus’ disciples through facial
expressions
More on da Vinci
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He wrote much of his notebook backwards in
“mirror writing”, so you have to use a mirror
to read it- no one knows why he took the time
to do this
Can you read this passage?
Michelangelo Buonarroti
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Also a true Renaissance Man- a painter,
sculptor, architect, poet
Famous for the way he portrayed the human
body in sculptor and in paintings
St. Peter’s Basilica
Sistine Chapel
David
St. Peter’s Basilica
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Michelangelo designed
the dome to top St.
Peter’s Basilica Church
in Rome
Began working on the
church in 1546, and it
still wasn’t finished in
1564 when he died
Another architect had to
finish it
Sistine Chapel
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Ceiling of Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel
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From 1508-1512 Michelangelo painted the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome
He spent hours each day laying stretched on
his back on top of a high scaffold with paint
dripping into his eyes
During the day, he endured the heat beating
upon the roof of the chapel
At night he worked by candlelight
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Many of the panels show classical influence
Much of the detail is about the Biblical prophet
Joel
David
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Michelangelo
sculpted David, the
Biblical hero from
1501-1504
He considered
himself a sculptor
above all, and ranked
sculpture as “the first
of the arts”
The statue stands 18
feet tall
Raphael
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Was younger than Michelangelo and Leonardo
Learned from studying their works
Greatest achievement was filling the walls of
the pope’s library with several paintings
One of those paintings is the School of Athens,
showing Raphael and other Renaissance artists
listening to Greek philosophers
Raphael’s School of Athens
Women Painters
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Although Renaissance society generally
restricted women’s roles, a few Italian women
became painters
Renaissance Writers
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Francisco Petrarch- a great poet, wrote in
Italian and Latin, composed sonnets (14 line
poems)
Boccaccio- Italian writer best known for the
Decameron, realistic, off-color stories about
trying to survive the plague
Niccolo Machiavelli- wrote The Prince, a
political guidebook examining how a ruler can
gain power and keep it, inspite of his enemies.
He mentioned tricking enemies and his own
people for the good of the state
Niccolo Machiavelli
Boccaccio
Francesco Petrarch
The Renaissance Spreads
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Toward the end of the 15th Century,
Renaissance ideas began to spread north from
Italy to countries such as France, Germany and
England