Transcript The Renaissance - Chandler Unified School District

Chapter 12
Learning Goal

I will be able to identify
some of the Renaissance
ideas
The Italian Renaissance

 Renaissance means “rebirth”
 People believed they had witnessed a rebirth of the
ancient Greek and Roman worlds.
 Three major traits of the Renaissance
 Renaissance Italy was largely an urban society –
meaning powerful city-states became the centers of Italian
political, economic, and social life.
 Renaissance was also an age of recovery from the
disasters of the 14th century – the plague, political
instability, and a decline in church power.
 A new view of human beings emerged as people in the
Italian Renaissance emphasized individual ability.

 Universal man – a well-rounded person could
achieve much in many areas.
 Leonardo da Vinci was the example of an Universal
man – he was a painter, sculptor, architect, inventor,
and mathematician.
The Italian States

 A number of Italian states remained independent –
Italy not unified.
 Three expanded and played crucial roles in Italian
politics. Milan, Venice, and Florence.
 The Medici family takes control of Florence, using
their wealth to run the government from behind the
scenes.
 Citizens tire of the Medici rule, they turn to a
Dominican preacher and oust the Medici family.
The Italian Wars

 The riches of Italy attracted the French King Charles
VIII.
 He invades and takes control of southern Italy
 Northern Italian states ask the Spanish for help.
 Spanish and the French battle to dominate Italy for
the next 30 years.
 Spanish sack Rome for payment of armies. Spanish
King Charles I ends the Italian wars and the Spanish
are a dominant force in Italy.
Machiavelli

 Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince- one of the most
influential works on political power in the Western world.
 Main theme in his book was how to acquire and keep political
power.
 Machiavelli believed that morality had little to do with politics
 His point of view was that a Prince’s attitude toward power
must be based on the understanding of human nature, which
he believed was self- centered.
 Machiavelli believes a prince acts on behalf of the state and for
the state’s sake, he must let his conscience sleep.
 His views had a profound influence on political leaders who
followed

Gutenberg and the
Press

 In 1455 Johannes Gutenberg produced the first
printed book
 His printing press brought together several existing
technologies.
 New innovation was the use of paper instead of
parchment.
 Rise of literacy during the Renaissance created a
growing audience for books.
 The printing press greatly accelerated the spread of
ideas
Ticket out the Door

 How did the printing press help spread learning?
 What was the main theme of Machiavelli’s “The
Prince”
 What are the three major traits of the Renaissance?
 What is an universal man and who was an example?
Ch 12 Sec 2
Learning Goal

I will be able to identify
ideas and art of the
Renaissance.
Ideas of the
Renaissance

 Humanism – based on the study of the classic literary works
of ancient Greece and Rome.
 Humanists studied grammar, rhetoric, poetry, moral
philosophy, and history – called humanities now.
 Renaissance writers began to write literature in their vernacular
languages
 Italian author Dante wrote his masterpiece the Divine
Comedy in Italian vernacular.
 Story of the souls journey to salvation. A lengthy poem
consisting of 3 sections, Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven
 English author Geoffrey Chaucer wrote his masterpiece The
Canterbury Tales in the English vernacular
 Collection of stories told by a group of 29 pilgrims travelling to
the tomb of Saint Thomas a Becket.

New Techniques in
Painting

 Frescoes are the first masterpieces of the Early
Renaissance
 Fresco is a painting done on fresh, wet plaster with
water-based paints
 Medieval painting the figures look flat and not to
scale
 The use of perspective leads to a new realistic style
 The realistic portrayal of the individual became
one of the chief aims of the Italian Renaissance


Artists of the
Renaissance

 Donatello studied statues of Greeks and Romans and
created a realistic, free standing figure of Saint George
 Leonardo da Vinci mastered the art of realistic painting –
Mona Lisa, The Last Supper,
 Raphael achieved an ideal of beauty far surpassing
human standards – known for his frescos in the Vatican
Palace, School of Athens painting
 Michelangelo was a painter, sculptor, and architect.
Known for his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel.
Donatello- Saint George

da Vinci

Raphael

Michelangelo

Ticket out the Door

What is a Fresco?
What became a chief aim of the
Italian Renaissance?
What did a Humanist study?
What did the use of perspective
lead to?