Unit 8The Renaissance

Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance

• Between the years 1300 and 1600, Europe went through a RENAISSANCE – A REBIRTH OF ART AND LEARNING.

• Italy had three advantages that led to the start of the Renaissance:

1) Urban centers (Big cities)2) Wealthy, powerful merchants who

decided their own status (Medici family)

3) Classical influence (Rome)

Classical and Worldly Values• People start to reject Medieval

ideals and rigid social structures.• The study of classical texts led to

HUMANISM – FOCUS ON HUMAN POTENTIAL AND ACHIEVEMENT

• Humanists thought people could enjoy life without offending God (ate good food, wore expensive clothing, etc.)

• This sparked a new SECULAR attitude – WORLDY AND BEING CONCERNED WITH THE HERE AND NOW.

PATRONS• PATRONS – PEOPLE WHO

FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED ARTISTS – had portraits done to demonstrate their importance (secularism)

• Many were wealthy merchants, including members of the Medici family.

• Some donated art to the city.

Renaissance Art and Artists

• Both Medieval and Renaissance artists used religious subjects, but Renaissance artists used a more realistic style copied from classical models.

• New art techniques include using PERSPECTIVE – A TECHNIQUE THAT CREATES THE APPEARANCE OF THREE DIMENSIONS and realism.

• MICHELANGELO (1475-1564) was a famous sculptor and painter.

• He sculpted David and painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Realism!!!

• LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519) was a famous painter, sculptor, inventor, and scientist.

• He painted the Mona Lisa, Last Supper, and had a notebook full of sketches of inventions.

The Northern Renaissance• Started later in England and

France because of plague and Hundred Years’ War

• Artists painted realistic landscapes and common people.