The Renaissance

Ponte VecchioOver the Arno

Europe in 1500

Italy

Low Countries

England

France

Spain

Ottoman Empire

Lithuania(Russia)Poland

Holy R

oman

Empir

e

Denmark

The Origins of the Term

1867 by historian Jakob Burckhardt

Met with resistance

Other HistoriansDisagreed with the historic period of time and on a distinction of this period from The Middle Ages.

• Fracture point from the Middle Ages• Revival of Classical Learning• Beginning of Modern Age

The Key Question?

Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy?

Different from the Middle Ages ---

The Italian Advantage• Resurgence of Urban living

post 1000 AD• Trade intermediaries from Muslim areas

to rest of Europe• Growth of City-States as a result of

wealth generated by trade.• Leadership demonstrated their power

through artistic displays.

The City-State• Individual regions ruled centrally from a

single city.• The struggle between the pope and the

Holy Roman Emperor for control gave neither control over the city-states.

• Given great autonomy.• Had incredible wealth from trade• Five: Papal States, Florence, Naples,

Venice, and Milan

Government Structure• Varied from region to region• Southern Italy (The Kingdom of

Naples) continued as Monarchies• Milan and Savoy were autonomous

Duchies (ruled by Dukes) Savoy is now part of France.

• Rome and surrounding areas were Papal States

• Venice and Florence were Republics

Savoy

A Cultural Center Emerges …

Venice

Most Powerf

ul Eco

nomic City

-State

Florence

Center o

f the Arts

Florence, 2002

Why Florence?• Center of Tuscany and key to origins of

Italian culture in the late Middle Ages• Tuscan language was basis for Italian• Florentine leadership recognized that

wealth and power could be represented by support of the arts, philosophy and science.

The d’Medici FamilyCosimo

1389-1464• Wealthy – used wealth

to control votes in ‘democratic Florence’

• Worked out of public view

• Platonic Society(intrigued by philosophy)

• Supported the Arts

The d’Medici – part 2

Lorenzo1449-1492

• Totalitarian• Resources into arts• But, son was weak

leader • Florentine Republic

followed

The d’Medici Chapel and Tomb

Mic

hela

ngel

o - f

amily

arti

st

The Treaty of Lodi 1454 or, the beginning of the end

• Florence, Milan and Naples vs. VeniceJealous of Venetian influence

• 1490’s Naples invade Milan• French come to support of Milan• French driven out in 1495 by coalition of

Spain, HRE, and other Italian states.• By 1500 both France and Spain are dividing

the Italian states. • Pope losses influence by choosing the

wrong side politically.

Renaissance Philosophy

The End of Scholasticism

The educational tradition of the medieval 'schools' (universities) which flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. It was a method of philosophical and theological enquiry, which aimed at a better understanding of Christian doctrine by a process of definition and systematic argument.

Beginnings of HumanismA doctrine or mode of thought that gives highest importance to human dignity, values, potentials, and achievements.

Erasmus Petrarch

Humanistsand Education

Trivium• Grammar• Logic• Rhetoric

Quadrivium• Geometry• Arithmetic• Astronomy• Music

All these disciplines were combined to create the

Liberal Arts

Ends Classical Education focused on teaching Christian Doctrine

Humanism• Medieval

– Wrote in stunted kind of Latin

– Writing more utilitarian in nature

– Writing technical in nature; conveyed information

• Renaissance– Wrote in Latin as

well as Italian– Wrote to convey

ideas, emotion and to persuade

– Influenced by Greeks & Romans style and topics

– Petrarch “father of humanism”

Humanism• First masterpiece written in Italian was

Boccaccio’s The Decameron• Libraries of ancient manuscripts assembled in

Florence • Humanists learned Greek to enhance their

knowledge as well as their libraries• Humanist writings spread by Guttenberg’s

printing press– By 1500, more than 10 million books in print in

Europe

Humanism• Renaissance schools attended almost

exclusively by males– Renaissance saw the separation of students by

age and ability• Because of Petrarch’s influence, students

were encouraged to learn moral lessons from the ancients on ideal behavior & values– Books on etiquette began to appear as a result

The Courtier

• Written by Baldassare Castiglione (1528)– The ideal courtier should have a varied

academic background, solid spiritual training and good physical fitness

– The courtier should be able to speak well, dance well, acquit himself well on the athletic field and be able to express himself with the written word

Machiavelli

• Florentine Diplomat• Out and then in favor with the d’Medici’s• Wrote The Prince while out of favor in order

to prove his worth to the family• Became the hallmark political thesis of the

Renaissance.

The Prince"Hence it is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity. “

“Because fortune is a woman, and if you wish to keep her under it is necessary to beat and ill-use her; and it is seen that she allows herself to be mastered by the adventurous rather than by those who go to work more coldly. She is, therefore, always, woman-like, a lover of young men, because they are less cautious, more violent, and with more audacity (bold, daring) command her. "

What policies does Machiavelli suggest for the aspiring leader?

The Arts

ArchitectureNew Look - New Technology

Architecture – The GoalsIn Public Buildings

In constructing churches, Renaissance architects no longer used the shape of a cross as a basis for their structures. Instead, they based them on the circle. Believing that ancient mathematicians equated circles with geometric perfection, architects used the circle to represent the perfection of God.

Brunelleschi

The Renaissance Architect

AlbertiCity PlannerSought symmetry

For Private DwellingsIn constructing their homes, wealthy people of the Renaissance often adopted a Roman style, building the four sides of their homes around a courtyard. Simple, symmetrical decorations--imitations of classical ones--were applied to the façades of buildings, and some structures also featured columns reminiscent of ancient temples.

Music Notation …

Instruments ….

Visual Art in the Renaissance(Painting and Sculpture)

Blends religious andsecular

The Florentine School• Took the first step toward reality in

painting.• Mathematical perspective to give the

illusion of space.• Human figure looked like real people

and inhabited believable space.

Leonardo DiVinciThe Ultimate Renaissance Man

PainterInventorScientist

MichelangeloStandard Setter

PainterSculpture

Pieta

SistineCeiling

David

Two Questions to Consider

• Did the Renaissance spread beyond Italy?

And if it did ---

• What differences were there in the Renaissance as it spread from Italy?

Northern Renaissance • More of a blend of old and new - less classic

• Much more religious than in Italy• They developed an ethical way of life - provided guidance on personal behavior

• Classical and Christian cultures be unified• They had a profound faith in the human intellect

• Believed that education improved the person

Humanists in the NorthGermany

• Economically advanced• Did not rebel against the Church• Most important inventor of the period –

Guttenberg

Printing Press

EnglandBorrowed from Other Nations

Thomas More• Great English Humanist• Lawyer and official• Henry VIII’s aide

- Opposed Henry’s position on divorce

• Utopia author• Died for religious beliefs

From Utopia ….For this is one of the ancientest laws among them; that no man shall be blamed for reasoning in the maintenance of his own religion. Utopia, 1516

Did most political and religious leaders agree with this sentiment? Why? Why Not?

England as the center of literature• Edmund Spenser

Poet/Faerie Queen

• Christopher MarlowPoet/PlaywrightFaustus

AND

William Shakespeare

1554-1616

Ben Jonson

Volpone

“Not o

f an Age,

but for A

ll Tim

e”

The Mermaid Tavern Group

1572-1637

The Low Countries• Also exceedingly wealthy from trade

and banking• Home to philosophers and artisans• Remained strongly religious • Believed in education as primary to

any reform.• Liberal in its political views and

philosophy

Northern European Artists• Developed improved technology (such as oil paints) during the period.

• Moved subjects into landscapes and portraits. Very little concern of anatomy.

• Developed new sources of light for paintings, masters of technique and detail.

• Evolves into Mannerism. A style of art given to complex poses and elongated figures..

Holbein and Jan van Eyck (1465-1524) (1422-1441)

Holbein Jan

van

Eyck

Medicine…….An understanding of the human system

Vesalius Drawing

Amputation

Operation