The Renaissance Begins

1. The Renaissance Begins Chapter 28

2. Just the Basics • The Renaissance began in Italy in the mid 1300’s • It spread throughout Europe in the 1400’s and 1500’s • Renaissance means re-birth • It was a re-birth of interest in classical art and learning

3. After the fall of Rome… • Rome fell in the 5th century • After this, the Roman Catholic Church copied documents from the classical period • This helped keep the teachings of ancient Rome alive • However, during the middle ages, most people did not have access to these documents • Most people were uneducated during the middle ages, and only learned what the Church taught them about the bible

4. A new flow of ideas • During the late Middle Ages, merchants and crusaders brought back goods and ideas from the East including classical learning that had been preserved in the Byzantine Empire • Europeans began to read classical works that came by way of Muslim scholars • This led to a rediscovery of Greek and Roman culture • Scholars, artists, and architects began studying classical works which led to a great time of learning – the Renaissance

5. The Renaissance grew from the teachings and experiences of the Classical (Rome and Greece) ad Medieval periods in Europe. These were the “roots” of the Renaissance.

6. Three periods in Art: Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance Renaissance artists were inspired more by classical than medieval art: it reflects a rebirth of interest in the classical world.

7. Classical Art (500BCE- 500CE) Included sculptures, pottery, murals, and mosaics Showed importance of people, leaders, gods and goddesses Valued balance and harmony Figures were lifelike but often more perfect than in real life Figures nude or draped in togas Faces were calm- no emotion Scenes showed heroic figures or real people doing tasks from daily life Little background or perspective in paintings

8. Medieval Art (500-1300CE) Created stained glass windows, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, paintings, and tapestries The purpose was to teach religion Most art was religious Important figures were show larger than others around them Figures looked stiff, no movement Figures were fully dressed Faces were serious and showed little feeling Paintings were two-dimensional Colors were bright Backgrounds were mostly one color- gold

9. Renaissance Art (1300’s- 1600’sCE) Created sculptures, murals, drawings, and paintings Tried to show the importance of people and nature Showed religious and nonreligious scenes Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional (showed an increased understanding of anatomy) Bodies looked active and in motion Figures were nude or clothed Scenes showed real people doing everyday tasks Showed facial expression Colors responded to light Paintings were often symmetrical Backgrounds showed perspective

10. Advancements in ART AND ARCHITECTURE blossomed in in towns with wealthy patrons who were able to pay for art to be created.

11. Trade and Commerce • Commerce – buying and selling of goods • Trade brought new ideas as well as goods from the East to Europe –The silk road became safer due to Mongol conquests • Crusaders also brought back ideas • This created prosperous cities and more people with wealth to support art and learning • Food, art, silk, and spices linked Europe to Africa and Asia • Bustling cities like Venice, Bruges, Brussels, and Genoa attracted traders, merchants, and customers • Many towns along trade routes provided inns and other services for traveling merchants

12. Increase in Trade • Led to the use of coins to buy goods: created a new money economy • Moneychangers were needed to convert one type of currency into another • SO craftspeople, merchants, and bankers became more important in society • Bankers exchanged currency, loaned money to merchants and rulers, and financed their own businesses • Merchants and bakers grew very rich- they could afford to make their cities more beautiful • Wealthy patrons commissioned new buildings and art • Wealthy patrons also helped found universities so cities grew into flourishing educational and cultural centers

13. The increase in trade and commerce brought wealth to towns and grew a whole new class of merchants, traders, and bankers with money to spend on art and learning; thus adding water to help the Renaissance grow.

14. Italian City-States • City-states were independent states consisting of a city and its surrounding territory • The Italian city-states conducted their own trade, collected their own taxes, and made their own laws; some (like Florence) were republics and were governed by elected councils) • Rich merchants often held most of the power which often stayed in the hands of one family (like the Medicis in Florence) • Trade made Italian city-states wealthy due to their central location on the Mediterranean trade routes • The city-state’s wealth encouraged a boom in art and learning. • Rich families became patrons of the arts and paid for the creation of statues, paintings, beautiful buildings, and elegant avenues • They also built new centers of learning such as universities and hospitals

15. The Growth of City-states were the seeds of the Renaissance. City-states became centers of wealth, learning, and art.

16. Humanism • Humanisim is a way of thinking that sought to balance religious faith with an emphasis on individual dignity and an interest in nature and human society • Humanisits studied the classical world and tried to put ancient ideas into practice. • They studied such subjects as art, architecture, government, and language They also read classical history and poetry and began to ask probing questions. • One of the first Humanists was Francesco Petrach who loved old books and searched for them all over Europe and encouraged his friends to bring him any they found.

17. What did Humanism look like? • Humanists did not just imitate the past, they sought to improve on the work of the Greeks and Romans • In universities, scholars began to teach methods of observation and experimentation • Artists and students of medicine closely studied human anatomy • Poets wrote about religious and everyday subjects • Writers produced works of history and politics • Humanistis separated the state and its right to rule from the church (separation of Church and State is at the root of the US constitution) • Renaissance thinkers prized individual achievement more than a person’s class or family

18. Many humanist ideas brought them into conflict with the Church • CHURCH • Laws were made by God • Those who broke laws were sinful • Encouraged people to follow its teachings without question in order to save their souls • Life after death was more important than life on Earth • HUMANISM • People should use their minds to question everything • Tried to balance religious faith and its emphasis on the afterlife with an active interest in daily life • Directly challenged teachings that were dear to the church

19. Humanism was the sunlight that let the Renaissance flourish. This was a new type of thinking that encouraged individuality and questioning.