Good Afternoon Class Discuss with the person next

Good Afternoon Class Discuss with the person next to you the Crash Course video: Is the Renaissance a Thing?

The Renaissance: An Introduction

Why did the Renaissance start in Italy? • Europeans still looked to Rome for cultural and intellectual guidance • Italy was a center of trade. Italian merchants prospered even during the Middle Ages; these merchants valued education and flaunted wealth through art • The Church’s wealth and power was based in Italy

Florence • Renaissance centered on the Italian city-state of Florence • Home to the powerful Medici family – wealthy bankers (banking had become too profitable and important to the economy to leave in the hands of Europe’s Jews) – spent vast amounts of money on art

What was the Renaissance? • Three Parts: Secularism 1. A shift in thought: • Secularism: A focus is on the secular(non-religious) (or “worldly”), rather than the religious • Focus of life changed from “How do I get into Heaven? ” to “How do I enjoy success here and now? ”

What was the Renaissance? 2. Humanism: or the idea that rational thought is superior to unquestioning faith – A renewed interest in education with a Heavy focus on the humanities (history, philosophy, & literature) – Revival of the classical learning of the Greeks & Romans (classicism) – Civic Humanism: application of humanism to civil service (Machiavelli) – Christian Humanism: Application of humanism to one’s own religious traditions (Erasmus)

What was the Renaissance? 3. Individualism: new emphasis on individual achievement. Individual out to be free to think, speak and act for himself and an openness to experimentation – a willingness to explore the world (Columbus) – a willingness to engage in scientific inquiry (Galileo, Copernicus) – a willingness to try new techniques in art (Michelangelo) – a willingness to challenge religious doctrine (Luther)

What was the Renaissance 4. Scientific Naturalism: close observation of the natural world geometry space anatomy

Greek & Roman Ideas That Humanists Focused On: • 1. Individual worth: humans can improve themselves through study & effort • 2. One should show a strong commitment to public service • 3. Humans can impact history, not just God

Pico Della Mirandola • Giovanni Pico della Mirandola was one of the foremost intellects of the Italian Renaissance. Pico boasted that he had studied all schools of philosophy, which he tried to demonstrate by drawing up nine hundred theses for public disputation at the age of twenty-four. As a preface to his theses, he wrote his famous Oration on the Dignity of Man, in which he proclaimed the unlimited potentiality of human beings.

Pico della Mirandola “On the Dignity of Man” • 1. HIPP THE DOCUMENT • 2. Answer the following: – 1. Why, in Pico’s view, does man have great dignity and capacity? – 2. What does Pico see as the purpose of human life? – 3. Renaissance humanism has sometimes been viewed as opposed to religion, and especially to the teachings of the Catholic Church at the time.

Roles • • Leader: 4 Presenter: 2 Recorder: 1 Presenter: 3

Reminder • Quiz on pages 358 -373 on FRIDAY

Humanism in the Arts • Humanist artists: – studied Greek and Roman artistic forms – often portrayed religious figures in a more realistic (or human) way – painted portraits of the “rich and famous” people of the time – mastered the trick of perspective, or the ability to give a painting dimensional depth – Rejected medieval Gothic architecture in favor of classical Greek forms (columns, arches, & domes)

Patronage in the Arts • Art is a luxury good, and as such, is expensive • Most Renaissance artists depended on wealthy patrons (or “sponsors”), such as the Medici family or the pope, who kept them employed • In the end, while many artists had humanist ideals, they also had to keep their patrons happy and produce art that would sell!

The Four “Masters” of the Italian Renaissance

Donatello • 1386 – 1466 • Name: Donato di Niccolo di Betto Barti • Master sculptor • Created the first life-size statue of a rider on horseback since Roman times • Masterworks include his version of “David”

Leonardo da Vinci • 1452 – 1519 • Only 15 paintings survive, but 2 of them are the most famous of all time – the “Mona Lisa” & “The Last Supper” • Master engineer & inventor • Dissected human corpses to learn anatomy

Mona Lisa

The Last Supper

Michelangelo • 1475 – 1564 • Name: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni • Master sculptor – the “Pieta” & “David” • Painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - mural depicting the Biblical stories of Genesis • Architect – designed the dome of St. Peter’s cathedral in Rome

The Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel

David

The Pieta

Raphael • 1483 – 1520 • Name: Raffaello Sanzio • Studied works of Leonardo and Michelangelo • Painted many “Madonnas” of Mary and the baby Jesus • Most famous work, “The School of Athens, ” depicts an imaginary meeting of history’s greatest thinkers and artists and is a masterpiece of perspective

The School of Athens

Italian Literature • Baldassare Castiglione → – Author of The Book of the Courtier, which told how to be a proper gentleman at the royal court • Petrarch – Poet, essayist, philosopher; famous for publishing his own letters to friends on various topics; called the “Father of Humanism”

Niccolo Machiavelli • Author of The Prince • Told how to gain and maintain power through ruthlessness • Taught that rulers should do whatever was necessary to achieve their objectives: “the ends justifies the means” • His writings still affect how governments and political campaigns are run even today

The Renaissance Spreads • Renaissance ideas (especially humanism) carried into the Netherlands by the Roman Catholic priest Erasmus • Later spread to England, France, Spain, & Germany

Northern Renaissance Art • Many new painters flourished, including van Eyck, Bruegel, & Rubens • Used newly invented oil paints which were brighter, allowed greater detail to be painted, and stood up better over time

Erasmus • Wrote a new translation of the Bible in Greek (violating Church law) and began to call on the Church to translate it into common languages so that more people could read it • Erasmus also openly criticized the hypocrisies of the Church in his book In The Praise of Folly

Northern Renaissance Authors • ← Thomas More – wrote Utopia, which described an ideal society • Francois Rabelais – wrote Gargantua and Pantagruel, a comic social satire • William Shakespeare – author of 37 plays including tragedies, comedies, and histories (Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Mc. Beth) • Cervantes – wrote Don Quixote, which mocked feudalism & the nobility

The Printing Press • 1456: Johann Gutenberg printed the first book in the west, using technology imported from East Asia • Within 20 years, moveable type had been invented, making printing even easier • By 1500, 20 million books had been printed in Europe – made books much cheaper – more access to books = more people learning to read – new discoveries and ideas can spread more quickly