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I. Introduction

I. Introduction. From darkness to light? The Renaissance spirit An intellectual and cultural movement Diversity of attitudes and approaches. II. The Renaissance and the Middle Ages. Observations Classical culture was alive in the Middle Ages

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I. Introduction

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  1. I. Introduction • From darkness to light? • The Renaissance spirit • An intellectual and cultural movement • Diversity of attitudes and approaches

  2. II. The Renaissance and the Middle Ages • Observations • Classical culture was alive in the Middle Ages • “Renaissance paganism” and medieval “age of faith” a false contrast • There was no Renaissance position on anything • Renaissance classicism • Significant quantitative difference between medieval and Renaissance learning • Rediscovery of classical texts (e.g., Virgil, Ovid, and Cicero) • Recovery of classical Greece from Byzantium

  3. II. The Renaissance and the Middle Ages (cont’d) • Renaissance classicism (cont’d) • Renaissance scholars used classical texts in new ways • An awareness of history • An awareness of cultural gaps • Renaissance culture more worldly and materialistic • Italian city-states • The importance of the urban political arena • A non-ecclesiastical culture • Relative weakness of the Church in Italy

  4. II. The Renaissance and the Middle Ages (cont’d) • Renaissance humanism • A program of study • From Scholastic logic and metaphysics to language, literature, rhetoric, history, and ethics • Vernacular literature as a diversion for the masses • Serious scholarship written in Latin (Cicero and Virgil) or Greek • The Renaissance educational program • The study of Latin and Greek • Producing virtuous citizens and able public officials • A practical elitism • Little concern for the education of women • The humanities

  5. III. The Renaissance in Italy • The origins of the Italian Renaissance – why Italy? • Italy was most advanced urban society • Aristocrats lived in urban centers • More fully involved in urban public life • Aristocrats and merchants less sharply defined • Engaged in mercantile enterprises or banking • Greater demands for education for public life • Best educated upper class in Europe • A greater sense of affinity with the classical past • The omnipresence of the past – surrounded by the monuments of ancient Rome

  6. III. The Renaissance in Italy (cont’d) • The origins of the Italian Renaissance – why Italy? (cont’d) • Italian wealth • A wealthy Italy compared to the rest of Europe • Italian writers and artists stayed at home rather than to seek employment abroad • Urban pride and the concentration of per capita wealth • Public urban support for culture • Patronage of the aristocracy • Patronage of the papacy

  7. III. The Renaissance in Italy (cont’d) • The emergence of textual scholarship • The civic humanists went beyond Petrarch in their knowledge of classicism • Italian scholars traveled to Constantinople looking for Greek texts • Giovanni Aurispa brought 238 manuscript books to Italy (1423)

  8. III. The Renaissance in Italy (cont’d) • Renaissance Neoplatonism • Blending the ideas of Plato, Plotinus, and ancient mysticism with Christianity • Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) • Member of the Platonic Academy at Florence • Translated Plato's works into Latin • Hermetica Corpus • Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) • Also a member of the Academy • Saw little worth in public affairs • Oration on the Dignity of Man • “Nothing more wonderful than man”

  9. III. The Renaissance in Italy (cont’d) • Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) • The man • Reflects the instability of Renaissance Florence and Italy • Becomes a prominent government official of the Florentine republic (1498) • Goes on diplomatic missions to other city-states • Fascinated with the achievements of Cesare Borgia • The ideas • Was he the amoral theorist of realpolitik? • Was he an Italian patriot?

  10. III. The Renaissance in Italy (cont’d) • Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) (cont’d) • The Prince • A “handbook for tyrants” in the eyes of his critics • Machiavelli saw that only a ruthless prince could revitalize the spirit of independence • Dark vision of human nature

  11. IV. The Italian Renaissance: Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture • General tendencies • Laws of linear perspective are discovered in the 15th century • Experimented with the effects of light and shade (chiaroscuro) • Careful studies of human anatomy • Growth of lay patronage opened the door to nonreligious themes and subjects • Delighting the intellect and the eye • Oil does not dry quickly, allowing the painter to make changes

  12. IV. The Italian Renaissance: Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture (cont’d) • Renaissance painting in Florence • Masaccio (1401-1428) • “Giotto reborn” • Paintings imitated nature • Employed perspective and chiaroscuro • Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) • Classical and Christian subjects • Allegory of Spring and Birth of Venus • Allegories compatible with Christian teachings • Ancient gods and goddesses represent various Christian virtues

  13. IV. The Italian Renaissance: Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture (cont’d) • Renaissance painting in Florence (cont’d) • Architecture • New building style was a composite of elements from antiquity and medieval Europe • Italian Romanesque as model • Cruciform floor plan • Geometrical proportions • St. Peter's Basilica (Rome) • Andrea Palladio (1508-1580)

  14. V. The Waning of the Italian Renaissance • Causes of decline, c.1550 • War • French invasion of 1494 and incessant warfare • French inroads on northern Italy by Charles VIII • Duchy of Milan and Kingdom of Naples • Aroused the suspicions of the Spanish • Louis XII invaded a second time (1499-1529) • Rome “sacked” by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V (1527) • The waning of Italian prosperity • Gradual shift of trade from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic • Warfare contributed to economic decline • The Counter-Reformation • The Inquisition (1542) and Index of Forbidden Books (1564) • Censorship • The death of Giordano Bruno • The trial of Galileo

  15. VI. The Renaissance in the North • Observations • Italian merchants were familiar figures at Northern courts • Students from all over Europe attended Italian universities • Northern European intellectual life dominated by universities • Paris, Oxford, Charles University (Prague) • Focus was on logic and Christian theology • Little room for study of classical literature • More secular, urban-oriented educational tradition in Italy • Northern rulers less interested in patronizing artists and intellectuals

  16. VI. The Renaissance in the North (cont’d) • Christian humanism and the northern Renaissance • Northern Christian humanists looked or ethical guidelines in the Christian past • They sought wisdom from the Christian ancients • New Testament • The Church Fathers • Northern artists inspired by Italian example to learn classical techniques • Desiderius Erasmus (c.1469-1536) • “The prince of the Christian humanists” • Born near Rotterdam but was a citizen of the world • Devoured the classics and the Church Fathers • Attended University of Paris • Rebelled against Parisian scholasticism • Made his living by teaching and writing

  17. VI. The Renaissance in the North (cont’d) • Desiderius Erasmus (c.1469-1536) (cont’d) • Promoted the “philosophy of Christ” • All society is corrupt, go back to the Gospels • The Praise of Folly (1509) • Sarcasm and parody of everything, including himself

  18. VI. The Renaissance in the North (cont’d) • Desiderius Erasmus (c.1469-1536) (cont’d) • Handbook of the Christian Knight (1503) • Urges the laity to pursue lives of inward piety • Complaint of Peace (1517) • Christian pacifism • Textual criticism • New versions of Jerome, Augustine, and Ambrose • The New Testament (1516) • Greek and Latin translations

  19. VI. Conclusion • Contrasts • High Middle Ages and the Renaissance

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