Italy: The Birthplace of the Renaissance

1. Italy: The Birthplace of the Renaissance

2. History • After the war & plague, the people who survived wanted to celebrate life • Started questioning life • Started questioning the church

3. Italy’s Advantages • Started in Italy • Explosion of creativity in art, writing and thought • Lasted from 1300-1600 • THE RENAISSANCE • REBIRTH!! • The revival of art and learning • Wanted to bring back Greece and Rome

4. The Renaissance spread started in Northern Italy then to the rest of Europe • 3 Advantages making Italy the birthplace of the Renaissance • 1. thriving cities • 2. a wealthy merchant class • 3. classical heritage of Greece and Rome

5. City States • Overseas trade • Italy was urban – most of Europe still rural • Cities were a place to exchange ideas, they were an ideal breeding ground for an intellectual revolution • Bubonic plague – killed 60% of people • Fewer people to work – could demand more $$ • No more business – expand interests in art

6. Merchants and the Medici • Merchants dominated politics • Unlike nobles, merchants did not inherit social rank – so to succeed they had to use their wit • Believed they deserved power and wealth because of their individual merit • VERY IMPORTANT

7. Florence, Italy • Was democratic until Renaissance • One powerful banking family the MEDICI • Cosimo Medici – wealthiest European & dictator • Died in 1464 but family continued to control Florence • Lorenzo de Medici – Lorenzo the Magnificent

8. Greece & Rome • Looked down on the art of the Middle Ages • Wanted to return to the learning of Greece & Rome • First, artists and scholars from Italy were inspired by the ruins of Rome that surrounded them • Second, Western scholars studied ancient Latin manuscripts that had been preserved

9. Third, Christian scholars in Constantinople fled to Rome with Greek manuscripts • When they studied the manuscripts, they became more influenced by classical ideas • Helped them create a new outlook on life and art

10. Classics lead to Humanism • Humanism – an intellectual movement that focused on human potential and achievements • Instead of trying to make classical; texts agree with Christian teaching as medieval scholars had, humanists studied them to understand Greek values.

11. Humanists influenced artists and architects to carry on classical traditions • Popularized the study of subjects common to classical education, such as history, philosophy and literature. HUMANITIES

12. Worldly Pleasures • Middle Ages – people demostrated their piety by wearing rough clothing and eating plain foods • Humanists – suggested a person enjoy their life without offending God • The wealthy enjoyed material luxuries, good music and fine foods.

13. Basic spirit of Renaissance society was SECULAR – worldly rather than spiritual, cared about their “here and now”

14. Patrons of the Arts • Beautified Rome • Financially supporting artists • Wealthy families – having their pictures painted by artists • Donating art • The wealthy demonstrated their own importance

15. The Renaissance Man • The ideal individual strove to master almost every area of study • “Universal Man” • Baldassare Castiglione – wrote “The Courtier” that taught how to become this man • “A young man should be charming, witty, and well educated in the classics. He should dance, sing, play music, and write poetry. In addition, he should be a skilled rider, wrestler and swordsman.

16. The Renaissance Woman • According to “The Courtier” upper-class women also should know the classics and be charming, yet they were not expected to seek fame. They were expected to inspire art but rarely create it. • Better educated • Little influence in politics

17. Isabella d’Este • Born into the ruling family of the city-state Ferrara, she married the ruler of another city-state Mantua. • Brought many Renaissance artists to her court and built a famous art collection • Skilled in politics

18. Renaissances Revolutionizes Art • Medieval Art – religious subjects to convey spiritual ideal • Renaissance Art – portrayed religious subjects but used a realistic style copied from classical models • Technique of perspective – which shows three dimensions of a flat surface

19. Michelangelo • Artists • Sculptor • Poet • Architect • Painter • Used a realistic style when depicting the human body

20. Donatello • Made sculpture more realistic by carving natural poses and expressions to show personality • Statue of David

21. Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance Man • Painter, sculptor, inventor, scientist • Interested in how things worked • Mona Lisa – so real • The Last Supper

22. Raphael • Learned from Leonardo and Michelangelo • Favorite was Madonna and the Child • Portrayed expressions as gentle and calm • Famous for perspective • Filled the walls of Pope Julius II’s library with paintings • School of Athens

23. Renaissance Writers Change Literature • Reflected their time • Medieval time writer – Dante • Vernacular – native language

24. Petrarch • Francesco Petrarch – earliest and most influential humanists • Father of Renaissance Humanism • Great poet • Wrote in Italian and Latin • Sonnets – 14 line poems, mostly about Laura

25. Boccaccio • Known for the Decameron • Series of realistic sometimes “off-color” stories • Tragic and comic views of life • Used humor to illustrate human condition • Presents characters individually

26. Niccolo Machiavelli • “The Prince” 1513 • Examines the imperfect conduct of humans • Political guidebook • How a ruler can gain power and keep it • Most people are selfish, fickle and corrupt • To succeed in a wicked world, a prince “must be strong as a lion and as shrewd as a fox” • Not morally right, but politically effective • To accomplish great things “he must be crafty enough to not only overcome the suspicions of others but also gain the trust of others”