Transcript Renaissance Class Notes 2015

The Renaissance (rebirth)
1350 AD – 1550 AD
Page 7 #1ab
Page 8 #6ab
Page 11 document 1.14 (study)
Page 13 ALL
Page 14 #5ab, 6ab
Page 22 #1, 2, 3 & 4
Page 23 #6
Page 24 #8
Petrarch and Humanism



Francesco Petrarch is known as the “father of
Humanism”.
He was a scholar (educated) and a poet.
He lived in Florence, Italy in the 1300s.

He spend his life digging around in attics and cellars
in Florence reading old Latin manuscripts.

He studied poets and philosophers from Ancient Rome
(ex: Cicero and Virgil).
His work inspired many writers and poets throughout all of
Europe. (ex: Shakespeare).

What did Petrarch believe?
Petrarch realized that the church’s
expectation of people was unrealistic.
 “Only God is perfect so people should
be allowed to make mistakes!”
 He believed education makes us
more creative and helps us develop
better ideas.
 He believed that the emotions (ex:
happiness, love, jealousy) that
humans feel is normal and not sinful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=WS8URfXnzuI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=l5AFBWBdIOM

He believed it was important for people to express
their feelings and ideas through literature, music,
dance & art.

He believed people should enjoy life without having to
worry about being a sinner or a bad Christian.
The Renaissance – How did it begin?

It started in Florence, Italy in the late 1300s at the end
of the Middle Ages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u8LD
XhFzPo
Humanism

One of the big changes in the Renaissance was in
the basic way people thought about things.

In the Middle Ages people thought that life was
supposed to be hard (nothing but hard work and
going to war).

The people in Florence began to think differently
about life.

They studied the writings and works of the Greeks
and the Romans and realized that earlier civilizations
were more advanced and had lived differently.
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle

This new way of thinking was called Humanism.

Humanists believed in the following:
Life should be enjoyed
We all have a purpose on Earth
Life isn’t a miserable pit-stop to heaven
Our accomplishments define who we are
Getting an education is important
Art, music, and science could make life better for
everyone.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Q1
The Creation of Adam
is perhaps the most
famous section of
Michelangelo's Sistine
Chapel ceiling.
Understanding the beginnings of the
Renaissance

When Rome fell in 542 AD, most of Europe entered a
dark period in history known as the Middle Ages.

Technology and knowledge in mathematics,
sciences, philosophy, etc. was abandoned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWcf7j
Or1gQ
Europeans during the Middle Ages

Lords ruled villages by force and intimidation

The church controlled learning

People were ignorant, illiterate, and superstitious

They lived in miserable conditions.

They had little hope of improving their lives.

Their main goal in life was finding eternal salvation.

They thought that suffering on Earth was necessary in
order to reach Heaven.
Florence, Italy and the Medici Family

At the start of the Renaissance, Italy was divided up into a
number of powerful city-states.

Florence was a wealthy city-state that elected its leaders
(republic).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0_zfT
N5_jI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf_X9w
5oKZU

In the late 1300s, Florence had become a rich city.

Wealthy merchants and businessmen had the money to
hire artisans.

Art began to flourish and new thoughts began to emerge.

1434 - The Medici family becomes the head of Florence.

They were powerful, wealthy bankers.

They sponsored many artists and using their personal
money to promote the humanist movement.

The Medici were known for their patronage of the
arts.

Patronage is where a wealthy person sponsors
(financially supports/gives money to) artists.

They would pay artists to produce major works of art.

The Medici patronage allowed artists to focus on their
work without having to worry about money.

The Medici supported most of the art and architecture
that was produced in Florence.

The Medici supported famous artists like
Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo da
Vinci.
The Medici also supported science
 They supported Galileo in his scientific efforts.
 Galileo believed in a heliocentric, or Sun-centered,
universe!

After Galileo began
publishing papers about
his astronomy
discoveries and his
belief in a heliocentric,
or Sun-centered,
universe, he was called
to Rome to answer
charges brought against
him by the Inquisition
Bankers
The Medici owed much of their wealth and power to
the Medici Bank.
 It made them one of the richest families in all of
Europe.
 It was the largest bank in Europe at its peak and was
very well respected.

Renaissance Art and Humanism

New Humanist ideas and attitudes
could be seen in art.

Humanists began focusing on our
interests, needs & abilities.

The Humanist movement changed
2 things in the art world:
1.
How artists painted their subjects
Who/what they decided to paint.
2.
Renaissance art is divided
up into two periods:
Artists
learned by trying to copy
(imitate) classical artists.
They
focused on symmetry and
creating the perfect form.
They
wanted to create the perfect
human anatomy.
Such
artists included Giotto,
Masaccio, and Donatello
Saint Mark (Donatello)
Artists
became interested in perspective, space and
realism.
Such artists included Michelangelo, Leonardo da
Vinci, and Rafael.
Change in subjects

In the Middle Ages the subject of most European art
was religion, specifically Christianity and the Catholic
Church.

Although artists continued to paint religious paintings,
they also branched out to other subjects such as:
Greek and Roman mythology
Historical people and historical events
Portraits of people
a)
b)
c)


The above subjects were mostly secular (non-religious)
They also focused on the details of everyday life.
Realism

One of the big changes in art
was to paint and sculpt
subjects realistically.

This is called realism.

Artists made the subjects and
background look like they
would in real life.

It also added emotion to the
subjects
Portrait of Lucrezia
Pucci Pancitichi
New technics and styles

New techniques improved the quality and realism of
the art.

Perspective is drawing or painting a picture that
looks three dimensional.
(It gives the illusion that some objects in the painting
are further away than others)

Balance and Proportion - Drawing subjects such
that they are the correct size when compared to each
other.

Use of Light and Dark - Many artists started using
light and shadows in their works (added drama,
perspective, and timing to their art).

Sfumato – The gradual blending of one tone into
another (added perspective and dimensionality).

This technique was used in Leonardo's Mona
Lisa.

Foreshortening Another technique
that added
perspective and
depth to paintings,
foreshortening is a
way of shortening
lines to give the
illusion of depth.
Architecture and buildings

Architects began to
look back to the
Romans and Greeks
for inspiration when
designing buildings.

Architecture style was
taken from Ancient
Rome and Greece.
Features of Renaissance buildings

Renaissance architecture had some distinct
features that were fairly common to major
construction:
1.
Square - Many buildings were built as square or
rectangle symmetrical shapes.
2.
Front - The front or "façade" of the buildings were
generally symmetrical around the vertical axis.
3.
Columns - used Roman type columns
4.
Arches and Domes were popular. This was again
taken from Roman and Greek architecture.
5.
Ceilings buildings were generally flat.
Humanism and Renaissance Art

Renaissance art glorified the human body.

It placed importance of the individual (ordinary
people) and was secular (not religious).

Leonardo da Vinci,
Raphael,
Michelangelo, and
Donatello were the 4
great masters of
Renaissance art.
Donatello: Annunciation c. 1435
These paintings have unrealistic features
 Disproportionate (did not have“correct size”)
 Showed no emotion
 Religious & no perspective


Scholars (educated people)
began to spread scientific
knowledge throughout
Europe.

Church opposed this!
(against it).
Kepler discovered that the planetary orbits
were elliptical.

Humanists began sending their children to schools
that taught humanist ideas.

They were taught poetry, history, and public speaking.
Aristotle
Plato

Europeans began to question the Church‘s actions.

At the time, the Church controlled all aspects of our
lives.

Humanists believed:
a)
people were able to reason well
on their own
b)
Church should not control or
brainwash us.
c)
We should have the right to
individual freedom of thought.
Galileo and Freedom of
Thought
Galileo Galilei, 1564-1642
d) God should not be our central concern.
e) preached for tolerance and peace (against religious
wars).

Johannes Gutenberg (inventor)

Books were now affordable.

Spread new “humanist” ideas (Europe).

Church taught that the Earth was flat and that it was
at the center of the universe!

Church rejected & forbade any teachings that did not
agree with its own.

Scientists learned about human anatomy by
dissecting corpses (Church forbade this!).

This lead to progress in medicine.

Martin Luther started a movement to reform (make
big changes) the Catholic Church.

He believed it had become too rich, powerful and
corrupt.

Luther was furious that the
Church sold indulgences.

Catholics believed they would
be saved if they simply
bought an indulgence.

The Church gave this “note” to any “sinner” who gave
money to them in exchange for forgiveness and eternal
salvation.

The money was used to pay for building projects (ex: St.
Peter's Basilica).

Luther saw this as deceptive, dishonest, abusive and
corrupt.

In 1517, Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses
(complaints) onto the wooden doors of a church.

This letter infuriates the pope.
1.
Good works (charitable acts) does not save us. He
pointed out that only Christ can save those who believe in
Him.
2.
The Bible is the living true authority of God, not the Pope.
3. People can read and interpret the bible for themselves.
4. Indulgences were useless, fraudulent, and unnecessary.
5. God created all people equally.
6. Worshiping God should be done through praise and
singing.

In1520, Luther excommunicated by Pope.

In 1521, Luther condemned as heretic and outlaw of
the Church by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

His life was spared.

Frederick the Wise, of
Saxony, made a deal with
the Church that would allow
Luther's safe passage to his
home at Wartburg Castle.

He re-wrote the bible in
German.

In 1545, Pope Paul III assembled a council Trent to
discuss how to deal with Protestant movement.

The Council of Trent was set up to deal with the
protestant movement.

Pope Paul III saw that this movement was spreading.

More and more Europeans supported its ideas and
left the Catholic Church.

The pope banded together a council for mainly two
reasons:
1.
To stop the spread of Protestant ideas and to support the
Catholic Church's own ideas.
2.
To change the actions of church leaders (their own) that
damaged or hurt the Catholic Church's image.

Priests had to be supervised and educated in
colleges.
Southwark
Cathedral in London

The Church reaffirmed (state
again as a fact) the
importance of faith and
“good works” in salvation.

It continued selling
Indulgences

It stated the importance of
pilgrimages and the profound
respect of saints, relics, and
of the Virgin Mary.

Created new religious orders like the Jesuits.

Jesuits were educated priests that taught and spread the
Catholic faith throughout the world.

Published an Official Latin Bible.
The
church's interpretation (explanation) of the Bible
was final.
Those
that did not agree with it were tried as heretics by
the Inquisition.
The
Inquisition was a formal court set up by the Church
to try people accused of not following the teachings of the
Church.

It had the power to torture and execute the accused,
who had no rights to a fair trial.

Protestants were considered heretics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv77lPW3cys

In 1567 St. Pius V canceled all grants of indulgences.

The church made a list of banned books “THE INDEX”.
*sum of money given by an organization for a purpose.

Enthusiasm was revived
for the Catholic Church.

Educated Jesuits
challenged Protestant
preachers.

Protestant movement
was weakened.