Transcript Renaissance and Politics “Getting out of the Dark Ages”

Renaissance & Politics
“GettinG out of the
Dark aGes”
Unit 3, SSWH 9 a & b
Renaissance “rebirth” – Revival
of art & learning
• Europe suffered from both war & plague (Bubonic
Plague “Black Death” - 25 million died)
• Survivors wanted to celebrate life &
the human spirit
• People began questioning institutions:
church & govt.
• Writers & artists began to express this new way of
thinking (brought back classic ideas: Greek &
Roman)
• New value: individual (medieval age: valued the
community)
Social & Economic Contributions
• Cities in Italy grew, Crusaders
traveled through
• Pop. Down (plague): worker
could demand higher wages
• Wealthy merchants (Burghers)
developed & got into politics
Politics
• Merchants dominate politics, believed
they deserved power & wealth
• Medici Family (bankers) ran Florence as a
dictator (with the appearance of a
democracy)
• Machiavelli, wrote “The Prince” & said
people are fickle, selfish, & corrupt
• No morals, only concerned with what was
effective - “The end justifies the means”
Renaissance Man
• Educated people, expected to create
art
• Individuals tried to master all areas
of study
• Young man should be charming,
witty, & well educated in the classics,
trained in/as a dancer, singer, poetry,
rider, wrestler, & swordsman
Leonardo da Vinci
• Painter, sculptor, inventor, &
scientist
• Interested in how things worked
• Famous: paintings
Mona Lisa, The
Last Supper
Michelangelo Buonarroti
• Sculptor, poet, architecture, & painter
• Painted realistic portraits, concentrated
on the body – used perspective
• Famous: painted the dome of St. Peter’s
Basilica, Sistine Chapel, & statue of David