THE ITALIAN RENAISSANC E WHY ITALY See Do

THE ITALIAN RENAISSANC E

WHY ITALY? See Do Now from last week! Northern Italy had WAY more cities than rest of Europe because of trade �Merchants in these cities explored art and other pursuits after Bubonic plague �Merchants also dominated politics

FLORENCE AND THE MEDICIS Among wealthiest families in all of Europe - merchants Ruled Florence, often as dictators Bankers to the Pope Patrons of the arts �Donatello �Raphael �Michelangelo Brought in materials from Greeks/Romans

THE CHURCH’S ROLE Became one of the biggest patrons of the arts- used to beautify city of Rome Became more worldly- threw large banquets, wore expensive clothes, and bought mansions

ARTISTS Michelangelo- realistic style with human body Donatello- first nude since ancient times Leonardo Da Vinci- Mona Lisa and Last Supper Massacio- first to use linear perspective Raphael- popularized

WHAT IS PERSPECTIVE? Vanishing Point Horizon Was used in classical times

LITERATURE It’s all about the vernacular �Why important? �For Italian Renaissance, that meant Italian

WRITERS Petrarch- wrote sonnets- 14 line poems- mostly about a woman named Laura- in Latin and Italian Boccaccio- Decameron- collection of tragic, comedic, and “off-color” stories about young people avoiding the plague Castiliglione- The Courtier- “guidebook” on how to become a Renaissance man or woman Machiavelli- The Prince- people are selfish and fickle, successful politicians must be shrewd and able to trick enemies and supporters; integrity not really important- sometimes you must mislead and lie � Wrote it for Medicis