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I. Italian City-statesA. Why Italy?

1. There was a new interest in the culture of ancientRome

2. Unlike other places, Italian cities survived theMiddle Ages and grew into prosperous centers of

trade and manufacturing3. A wealthy merchant class further promoted thiscultural rebirth

a) They stressed education and individualachievement

b.) They spend lavishly to support the arts

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B. Florence and the Medicis1. Florence came to symbolize the energy and

brilliance of the Renaissance2. It produced a number of gifted poets, artists,architects, scholars, and scientists

3. The Medici family organized a successful bankingbusiness (1400s)

a.) Among the richest merchants and bankers inEuropeb.) Cosimo deMedici gained control of the

Florentine govt in 1434 and the family continued

as uncrowned rulers for many yearsc.) Lorenzo the Magnificent - politician whoheld Florence together in the late 1400s; apatron (financial supporter) of the arts

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II. What was the Renaissance? A time of creativity and change inpolitical, social, economic, and cultural areas

A. A New Worldview1. Creative Renaissance minds set out to transform their ownage2. They believed this was a time of rebirth after what they sawas disorder and disunity of the medieval world

3. Renaissance Europe did not break completely with itsmedieval past

a.) Latin had survived as the language of the Church andthe educated

b.) The mathematics of Euclid, astronomy of Ptolemy, andworks of Aristotle were well-known

4. Unlike medieval scholars who focused on life after death,Renaissance scholars explored the richness and variety ofhuman experience in the here and now

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B. A Spirit of Adventure

1. Christopher Columbus, who sailed to the Americas,represented the Renaissance spirit of adventure.

2. Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish scientist, revolutionized theway people viewed the universe

C. Humanism

1. Based on the study of classical culture, it focused on

worldly subjects rather than on religious issues2. Most humanists were pious Christians who hoped to use

the wisdom of the ancients to increase their understandingof their own times

3. They believed that education should stimulate creativepowers

4. They returned to the humanities subjects taught inancient Greek and Roman schools

a.) Grammar, rhetoric, poetry, and history based onGreek and Roman texts.

5. Francesco Petrarch - an early Renaissance humanistwho found and assembled a library of Green & Roman

manuscripts

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III. A Golden Age in the ArtsA. Humanist Concerns

1. Renaissance artists portrayed religious figuressuch as Jesus & Mary2. However, they often set the figures against

Greek or Roman backgroundsB. New Techniques

1. Artists learned the rules of perspective making distant objects smaller than those closeto the viewer to make it three-dimensional

2. They used shading to make objects look round

and real3. They studied human anatomy and drew fromlive models

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C. Women Artists

1. Some women overcame

the limits on education tobecome professional artists2. In the 1500s, Sofonisba

Anguissola became court painter

for King Philip II of Spain

D. Architecture1. Renaissance architects

rejected the Gothic style ofthe late Middle Ages as

cluttered and disorderly2. They adopted the

columns, arches, and domesthat the Greeks favored

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IV. Three Geniuses of Renaissance ArtA. Leonardo da Vinci

1. Made sketches of nature and models in his studio2. His most popular is the Mona Lisa3. The Last Supper, shows Christ and his apostles the nightbefore his crucifixion4. He made sketches for flying machines and undersea boats

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B. Michelangelo1. Sculptor, engineer, painter,

architect, and poet2. His statue of David, thebiblical shepherd who killedGoliath recalls the harmony ofancient Greek tradition

3. His greatest project was ahuge mural on the ceiling ofthe 4. Sistine Chapel in Romewhich depicted the biblicalhistory of the world

C. Raphael1. Best known for hisportrayals of the Madonna,mother of Jesus

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V. Italian Renaissance WritersA. Castigliones Ideal Courtier

1. The Book of the Courtierdescribed the manners,

skills, learning, and virtues that a member of the courtshould have (ideal courtier was well-educated, well-

mannered aristocrat who mastered many fields frompoetry to music to sports)2. Ideal man: athletic but not overactive, good at

games but not a gambler. Plays a musical instrumentbut not arrogant

3. Ideal woman: graceful and kind, lively but reserved,beautiful

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B. Machiavellis Successful Prince1. In The Prince (1513) he offered a guide to rulers on how togain and maintain power

2. Stressed the end justifies the means urged rulers to usewhatever methods necessary to achieve their goals

3. His work continues to spark debate because it raises ethicalquestions about the nature of government and the use ofpower