In Italy the growth of wealthy trading cities and new ways of

thinking helped lead to a rebirth of the arts and learning. This era

became known as the Renaissance.

The Italian Renaissance

As the economy and society changed, new ideas began to appear. This period of interest and developments in art, literature, science and learning is known as the Renaissance, French for “rebirth.”

• Venetian ships carried goods for trade and Greek scholars seeking refuge

• Scholars brought ancient works thought to be lost

Inspiration from the Ancients • Italians who

could read looked for more information

• Read Arabic translations of original texts

• Searched libraries, found lost texts

New World of Ideas

• As they read, began to think about philosophy, art, science in different ways

• Began to believe in human capacity to create, achieve

Different Viewpoints

Renaissance Ideas

The revival of trade in Europe helped bring an end to the Middle Ages & gave rise to the Renaissance

Increased trade gave rise to Italian city-states & a wealthy middle class

of bankers & merchants

Wealthy bankers & merchants wanted to

show off their new status by commissioning art

The rise of cities brought artists

together which led to new techniques

& styles of art

How did the Crusades contribute to the Renaissance?

Crusades (1095 – 1291) = Religiously sanctioned military campaigns waged by Roman Catholics against Muslims who had occupied the near east

since the Rashidun Caliphate (founded after Muhammad’s death in 632, the Rashidun

Caliphate was one of the largest empires of the time period)

Increased demand for Middle Eastern products

Stimulated production of goods to trade in Middle Eastern markets

Encouraged the use of credit and banking

The Renaissance

●Johannes Gutenberg●In 1455, produced the

1st printed book, a bible●Gutenberg Bible

●Used moveable metal type

Literature flourished during the Renaissance and spread Renaissance ideas, which can be greatly attributed to

Johannes Gutenberg.

In 1455 Gutenberg printed the first book produced by using moveable type, The Bible, and started a printing

revolution that would transform Europe.

Literacy rates increased

• Religious paintings focused on personality

• Humanist interest in classical learning, human nature

• Building design reflected humanist reverence for Greek, Roman culture

• Classical architecture favoured

Classical Influence

• Studied perspective, represented three-dimensional objects

• Experimented with using colour to portray shapes, textures

• Subject matter changed; artists began to paint, sculpt scenes from Greek, Roman myths

Artists Methods

Styles and Techniques

The Renaissance produced new ideas that were reflected in the arts, philosophy, and literature.

Patrons, wealthy from newly expanded trade, sponsored works which glorified city-states in northern Italy. Education became increasingly

secular.

Classical art showed the importance of people and leaders, as well as gods and goddesses

Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation

Renaissance art and literature focused on the importance of people and nature, along with

religion

Classical ArtHistory Alive! Pg. 316 ‘Discobolus’

• Figures were lifelike but often idealized (more perfect than in real life)

• Figures were nude or draped in togas (robes)• Bodies looked active, and motion was believable • Faces were calm and without emotion• Scenes showed either heroic figures or real people

doing tasks from daily life

Medieval ArtHistory Alive! Pg. 317 ‘Narthex Tympanum'

• Most art was religious, showing Jesus, saints, people from the Bible, and so on

• Important figures in paintings were shown as larger than others around them

• Figures looked stiff, with little sense of movement• Figures were fully dressed in stiff-looking clothing• Faces were serious and showed little feeling• Paint colors were bright

Renaissance ArtHistory Alive! Pg. 317 ‘The School of Athens’

• Artists showed religious and nonreligious scenes• Art reflected a great interest in nature• Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional, reflecting an

increasing knowledge of anatomy• Bodies looked active and were shown moving• Figures were either nude or clothed• Scenes showed real people doing everyday tasks• Faces expressed what people were thinking• Paintings were often symmetrical (balanced, with the right

and left sides having similar or identical elements)

Renaissance artists embraced some of the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome in their art.

The purpose of art would no longer be to glorify God, as it had been in Medieval Europe. Artists wanted their

subjects to be realistic and focused on humanity and emotion.

New Techniques also emerged.

Art and Patronage

Italians patrons (financial supporters) were willing to spend a lot of money on art

– Art communicated social, political, and spiritual values and therefore being able to buy art was used as a form of competition for social and political status.

What was different in the Renaissance?

Realism

Perspective

Emphasis on individualism

Geometrical arrangement of figures

Light and shadowing

Softening of edges

Artist able to live from commissions

Characteristics of Renaissance Art

1. Realism & 1. Realism & ExpressionExpression

Expulsion from the Garden

Masaccio

1427

First nudes since classical times.

2. Perspective

Perspective!Perspective!PerspectivePerspective!!Perspective!Perspective!

PerspectivePerspective!!PerspectivePerspective!!

First use First use of linear of linear

perspective!perspective!

PerspectivePerspective!!PerspectivePerspective!!

The Trinity

Masaccio

1427

What you are, I once was; what I

am, you will become.

4. Emphasis on Individualism

Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre: The Duke & Dutchess of Urbino

Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.

5. Geometrical Arrangement of Figures

Leonardo da Vinci

1469

The figure as architecture!

The Dreyfus Madonna with the Pomegranate

6. Light & Shadowing/Softening Edges6. Light & Shadowing/Softening Edges

Chiaroscuro:use of light and shade

Sfumato:gradual blending of one area of color into another without a sharp outline

Ginevra de' Benci, a young Florentine noblewoman who, at the age of sixteen, married Luigi Niccolini in 1474.

1452-1519

Painter, Sculptor, Architect,

Mathematician, Engineer

Mona Lisa(1503-1506)

The Last Supper(1495-1498)

Jesus and his apostles on the night before the crucifixion

Notebooks

Leonardo da Vinci dissected corpses to learn how bones and muscles work

Born in 1475 in a small town near Florence, is considered to be one of the most inspired men who ever

lived; he was a sculptor, painter, engineer, architect, and poet.

David

Michelangelo created his masterpiece

David in 1504.

The Biblical shepherd, David (who killed Goliath) recalls the harmony and grace of ancient Greek tradition

15c15c

16c 16c

WhatWhat

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differencedifference

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centurycentury

makes!makes!

Sistine ChapelAbout a year after creating

David, Pope Julius II summoned Michelangelo to Rome to work on his most famous project, the

ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Depicts the biblical history of the world from the Creation to the Flood

Creation of Eve Creation of Adam

Separation of Light and Darkness The Last Judgment

Pieta 1499Marble Sculpture

Captures the sorrow of the Virgin Mary as she cradles her dead son, Jesus on her knees

Moses

Northern RenaissanceNorthern RenaissanceThe Renaissance in northern Europe (outside Italy)

• There was increased cultural exchange between European countries

• Printed materials helped to spread ideas

• Centralization of political power made the northern Renaissance distinct from the Italian Renaissance (e.g., nation-states instead of Italian city-states)

• Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas.

• Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity.

• The movable type printing press and the production and sale of books (Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate ideas and allowed more people to become educated.

•Cultural and educational reform

•The study of classical culture (ancient Greece and Rome), in contrast with the study of things related to the church and religion

• Celebrated the individual

•Was supported by wealthy patrons (financial supporters)

Virtual Tour of the Sistine Chapel

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html