The Italian Renaissance

1. The Italian Renaissance In Italy the growth of wealthy trading cities and new ways of thinking helped lead to a rebirth of the arts and learning. This era became known as the Renaissance.

3. New World of Ideas Inspiration from the Ancients Different Viewpoints • Venetian ships carried goods for trade and Greek scholars seeking refuge • Scholars brought ancient works thought to be lost • Italians who could read looked for more information • Read Arabic translations of original texts • Searched libraries, found lost texts • As they read, began to think about philosophy, art, science in different ways • Began to believe in human capacity to create, achieve Renaissance Ideas As the economy and society changed, new ideas began to appear. This period of interest and developments in art, literature, science and learning is known as the Renaissance, French for “rebirth.”

4. The revival of trade in Europe helped bring an end to the Middle Ages & gave rise to the Renaissance The rise of cities brought artists together which led to new techniques & styles of art Increased trade gave rise to Italian city-states & a wealthy middle class of bankers & merchants Wealthy bankers & merchants wanted to show off their new status by commissioning art

5. How did the Crusades contribute to the Renaissance? Crusades (1095 – 1291) = Religiously sanctioned military campaigns waged by Roman Catholics against Muslims who had occupied the near east since the Rashidun Caliphate (founded after Muhammad’s death in 632, the Rashidun Caliphate was one of the largest empires of the time period) Increased demand for Middle Eastern products Stimulated production of goods to trade in Middle Eastern markets Encouraged the use of credit and banking

6. The Renaissance • Johannes Gutenberg • In 1455, produced the 1st printed book, a bible • Gutenberg Bible • Used moveable metal type

7. Literature flourished during the Renaissance and spread Renaissance ideas, which can be greatly attributed to Johannes Gutenberg. In 1455 Gutenberg printed the first book produced by using moveable type, The Bible, and started a printing revolution that would transform Europe. Literacy rates increased

8. Classical Influence Artists Methods • Religious paintings focused on personality • Humanist interest in classical learning, human nature • Building design reflected humanist reverence for Greek, Roman culture • Classical architecture favoured • Studied perspective, represented three-dimensional objects • Experimented with using colour to portray shapes, textures • Subject matter changed; artists began to paint, sculpt scenes from Greek, Roman myths Styles and Techniques

9. The Renaissance produced new ideas that were reflected in the arts, philosophy, and literature. Patrons, wealthy from newly expanded trade, sponsored works which glorified city-states in northern Italy. Education became increasingly secular.

10. Classical art showed the importance of people and leaders, as well as gods and goddesses Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation Renaissance art and literature focused on the importance of people and nature, along with religion

11. Classical ArtHistory Alive! Pg. 316 ‘Discobolus’ • Figures were lifelike but often idealized (more perfect than in real life) • Figures were nude or draped in togas (robes) • Bodies looked active, and motion was believable • Faces were calm and without emotion • Scenes showed either heroic figures or real people doing tasks from daily life

12. Medieval ArtHistory Alive! Pg. 317 ‘Narthex Tympanum' • Most art was religious, showing Jesus, saints, people from the Bible, and so on • Important figures in paintings were shown as larger than others around them • Figures looked stiff, with little sense of movement • Figures were fully dressed in stiff-looking clothing • Faces were serious and showed little feeling • Paint colors were bright

13. Renaissance ArtHistory Alive! Pg. 317 ‘The School of Athens’ • Artists showed religious and nonreligious scenes • Art reflected a great interest in nature • Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional, reflecting an increasing knowledge of anatomy • Bodies looked active and were shown moving • Figures were either nude or clothed • Scenes showed real people doing everyday tasks • Faces expressed what people were thinking • Paintings were often symmetrical (balanced, with the right and left sides having similar or identical elements)

14. Renaissance artists embraced some of the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome in their art. The purpose of art would no longer be to glorify God, as it had been in Medieval Europe. Artists wanted their subjects to be realistic and focused on humanity and emotion. New Techniques also emerged.

15. Art and Patronage Italians patrons (financial supporters) were willing to spend a lot of money on art • Art communicated social, political, and spiritual values and therefore being able to buy art was used as a form of competition for social and political status.

16. What was different in the Renaissance? Realism Perspective Emphasis on individualism Geometrical arrangement of figures Light and shadowing Softening of edges Artist able to live from commissions

17. Characteristics of Renaissance Art

18. 1. Realism & Expression Expulsion from the Garden Masaccio 1427 First nudes since classical times.

19. 2. Perspective The Trinity Masaccio 1427 Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! First use of linear perspective! What you are, I once was; what I am, you will become.

20. 4. Emphasis on Individualism Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre: The Duke & Dutchess of Urbino Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.

21. 5. Geometrical Arrangement of Figures Leonardo da Vinci 1469 The figure as architecture! The Dreyfus Madonna with the Pomegranate

22. 6. Light & Shadowing/Softening Edges Sfumato: gradual blending of one area of color into another without a sharp outline Chiaroscuro: use of light and shade Ginevra de' Benci, a young Florentine noblewoman who, at the age of sixteen, married Luigi Niccolini in 1474.

23. 1452-1519 Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Mathematician, Engineer

24. Mona Lisa(1503-1506)

25. The Last Supper(1495-1498) Jesus and his apostles on the night before the crucifixion

26. Notebooks Leonardo da Vinci dissected corpses to learn how bones and muscles work

27. Born in 1475 in a small town near Florence, is considered to be one of the most inspired men who ever lived; he was a sculptor, painter, engineer, architect, and poet.

28. David Michelangelo created his masterpiece David in 1504. The Biblical shepherd, David (who killed Goliath) recalls the harmony and grace of ancient Greek tradition

29.  15c Whatadifferenceacenturymakes! 16c 

30. Sistine Chapel About a year after creating David, Pope Julius II summoned Michelangelo to Rome to work on his most famous project, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Depicts the biblical history of the world from the Creation to the Flood

31. Creation of Adam Creation of Eve Separation of Light and Darkness The Last Judgment

32. Pieta 1499Marble Sculpture Captures the sorrow of the Virgin Mary as she cradles her dead son, Jesus on her knees

33. Moses

34. Northern Renaissance The Renaissance in northern Europe (outside Italy) • There was increased cultural exchange between European countries • Printed materials helped to spread ideas • Centralization of political power made the northern Renaissance distinct from the Italian Renaissance (e.g., nation-states instead of Italian city-states)

35. • Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas. • Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity. • The movable type printing press and the production and sale of books (Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate ideas and allowed more people to become educated.

36. Cultural and educational reform • The study of classical culture (ancient Greece and Rome), in contrast with the study of things related to the church and religion • Celebrated the individual • Was supported by wealthy patrons (financial supporters)

37. Virtual Tour of the Sistine Chapel http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html