The Renaissance
(1450 AD – 1600)
Renaissance
“Rebirth”
Humanism & humanistic thinking
For the good of the people, political thought
Italian City-States
Florence
Renaissance began
Ruled by Medici family (Lorenzo de Medici (Magnificent) – 1478)
Bankers
Patrons of arts
Center of art & learning: poets & painters flocked
1490 – trade declined, food shortage
1494 – Savonarola (monk) overthrew Medici’s
New government stopped: parties, gambling, swearing
Burnt paintings, fancy clothes, musical instruments, classical
Books
1498 – Tired of Savonarola’s strict rules – hanged for heresy
Medici’s returned to power
Venice
117 Islands connected by 400 bridges (canals) Adriatic Sea
Grand Canal
Rialto – business area / trade center
Ruled by aristocrats – control Senate & Council of 10
Passed laws / chose Doje (leader) (little pwr)
Loyalty to city above all
Report neighbors
Treason boxes – letters of accusation
Council studied evidence/listen to witnesses/guilt or innocence
Late 1500’s Renaissance arrives
Constantinople for art & literature
Papal States
Central Italy, Rome, Ruled by Pope
Rodrigo Borgia – bribed cardinals to vote him pope
Pope Alexander VI
Lucretia Brogia – parties & poison
Cesare – army took over towns
1503- Land lost upon Alexander’s death
Wealthy from trade
Power passed from guilds to wealthy families
Important – be remembered as wise /generous rulers
Parades / ceremonies
Built: palaces, churches, schools
Schools days: mind and body strength
Classical writings / good manners
Wrestling / fencing / swimming
CITY LIFE
Merchants & shopkeepers lived above shops
Piazza – center square: markets & trade
Fashion
Men: tights & tunics
Women: flowing dresses w/ tight bodices
Renaissance Manners
1. Do not blow your nose and then open and look inside your handkerchief, as if pearls or rubies had dropped out of your head.
2. Do not offer anyone a fruit from which you have already taken a bite.
3. Do not tell sad stories at parties or mealtimes. If someone starts talking this way, gently and politely change the subject and talk about something more cheerful.
4. Do not brag about honors, wealth, or intelligence.
5. Do not speak while yawning.
6. Do not clean your teeth with your napkin or your finger.
7. Do not lie all over the dinner table or fill both sides of your mouth with so much food that your cheeks stick out widely.
8. Do not undress, comb, or wash your hair in front of others.
9. Do not stick out your tongue, rub hands together, or groan out loud.
10. Do not talk too much, especially if your knowledge is small.
ART
Competition between states for artists (painters/sculptors)
Artists studied:
Greek & Roman Art
Details of nature
Perspective – way of showing objects as they appear at different distances
Structure of human body
Experimented w/ light, color, & shade
True to life, full of color & action
Multi-task: paint, sculpt, design/carve furniture, jewelry, scenes for plays
Festival cloaks, carnival masks, candlesticks, chandeliers,
Decorated cakes
City-state rulers paid artists to create
Leonardo da Vinci
Mona Lisa – portrait of Italian noblewoman
The Last Supper – fresco on monastery dining room
Designed first parachute
Drew flying machine & mechanical digger
Studied anatomy
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Sculptor
David
Pieta (Mary holding Jesus)
Moses
Painter
Sistine Chapel
Raphael
Fresco painter from Florence
Religious figures & scenes
Madonna – Virgin Mary
Helped in construction of St. Peter’s Bascilica
School of Athens
NEW WRITING
Uses symbolism
Dante: Divine Comedy: journey through Hell, Purgatory & Heaven
Chaucer: Canterbury Tales: series of stories told by travelers on pilgrimage to
Shrine of Tomas Becket
Machiavelli: The Prince: speaks of deceitful leaders & way gov’t should operate
FRANCE
French invasions – brought back Italian architects & artists
Chateaux – castles
Rabelais – physician / monk (believed that humans not tied down by past)
The Adventures of Gargantua and Pantagruel
GERMANY
Johannes Gutenberg: Movable type printing press
Originally: books printed in Latin
Movable press: books printed in vernacular (language of locals people)
1st book printed: bible
ENGLAND
Plays
Open air, day light theatres
Pit – seating below stage
William Shakespeare
Comedies & tragedies of histories of England and ancient Rome
Considered greatest play-write
Renaissance 1
Kolarik 06 - 07