The Renaissance

Beginning of the Modern World

The World Before 1500 ADMajor Trade Routes

• Silk Road – (China’s Pacific coast to Mediterranean Sea)

• Arabs controlled most overland routes – (ex. Saharan Routes)

• Hanseatic League – controlled Northern Europe’s coast and Black Sea

• Italians (Genoans and Venetians) – controlled the Mediterranean Sea Routes

• Sea routes to Asia and India – were made around African coast

Silk Road China => Northern India => Middle East => Constantinople => into Europe

(Italy)

What Trade Helped to Accomplish

• Why is it important to study trade?– Exchange of products, ideas, technology, and

scientific advancements• India (Sea Route around Africa)– Medicines, textiles

• Middle East (Arab-Saharan Route)– Numerical system, astronomy, mathematics

• China (Silk Road)– Paper, compass, silk, and porcelain

Start of Renaissance

• In Italy, writers and artists began to express this new spirit and to experiment with different styles, greatly changing how Europeans saw themselves and their world.

• This movement that started in Italy caused an explosion of creativity in art, writing, and thought that lasted approximately from 1300 to 1600. Historians call this period the Renaissance (REHN-ih-SAHNS).

The Renaissance (Revival of Curiosity about the world)What was it?

• Renaissance means “REBIRTH” in French• Considered the birth of the modern world• Revival of Classical knowledge, culture and art– Greek and Roman culture and art– Seen in artwork, literature, and philosophy of

EuropeansWhen was it?

– Lasted from 1300–1600 AD

Starts in Italian City-StatesWhere did it start?

• Started in northern Italy (Important cities – Genoa, Florence, and Venice)– Italy was not a united

country (group of independent city-states)

– Most cities had experienced a stimulation in trade• Due to the Crusades

– Eventually will move north into the rest of Europe

How and why did it start??• Why Italy?– Central location on the Mediterranean Sea– Access to trade routes from Middle East and

Byzantine Empire• Helped Italian City-States accumulate wealth• Italian City-States are located between Northern Europe

and the Middle East– Crusades help to stimulate trade• New products brought in from the Middle East

– Stimulates trade between Middle East and Europe

Italy’s Advantages

• Merchants and the Medici– A wealthy merchant class develops– More emphasis on individual achievement– Banking family, the Medici, controls Florence

• Looking to Greece and Rome– Artists and scholars study ruins of Rome, and

study Latin and Greek manuscripts– Scholars move to Rome after the fall of

Constantinople in 1453.

More Reasons the Renaissance Began• New Banking Practices established– Most major Italian City-States are republics– Increase in trade creates the need for new business

practices• Credit is established• Banks start to charge interest on money they had loaned

(Usury)– Church has rules against it – Italian bankers ignore it and it increases secularism

» Secularism = Moving away from church influencing life• Introduction Arabic numerals (Makes it easier to keep

records of money)

Who supported it? (Who paid these artists?)

• Wealthy Italians support new artistic movement that was going on– Called “Patrons”

• Ex – Lorenzo de Medici and his family (the Medici family) – Pay for new pieces of

artwork to be created– Supported the arts (much

like charity)

• Why? Help to improve society and their legacy

Classical and Worldly Values• Patrons of the Arts

– Patron—a financial supporter of artists

– Church leaders spend money on artworks to beautify cities

– Wealthy merchants also patrons of the arts

• The Renaissance Man– Excels in many fields: the

classics, art, politics, and combat– Baldassare Castiglione’s (pictured

right)The Courtier (1528) teaches how to become a “universal” person

Classical and Worldly Values

• The Renaissance Woman– Upper-class, educated in

classics, charming– Expected to inspire art

but not create it– Isabella d’Este, patron of

the artists, wields power in Mantua

Movements born out the RenaissanceHumanism: (Seen in the writing and literature)• Most important movement during the Renaissance– Focused on the classics (Greek and Roman) literature and

culture• Believed that by studying the classics one could live a moral and

fulfilling life– Celebrated the individual and one’s ability to determine

right over wrong– Humanist scholars and writers started raiding any work they

could find in Latin that was from the Ancient Roman Empire• Conflict for many Italian Humanist who were still Catholics

– many still committed to religious beliefs– Created personal conflict and tension with church

Classical and Worldly Values

• Classics Lead to Humanism– Humanism—intellectual movement focused on

human achievements– Humanists studied classical texts, history,

literature, and philosophy• Worldly Pleasures– Renaissance society was secular—worldly (moving

away from church influence)– Wealthy enjoyed fine food, homes, and clothes

Who and What spread these writings?• Johannes Gutenberg invents the Printing Press – in 1440 (could make

books quickly)• Remember that in the middle ages Monks in monasteries had to copy

books by hand – Now books could not be burned or destroyed if the church or kings did not like

them or want them around!!!– We will examine this more closely near the end of the unit

Artwork during the Renaissance• New Artwork in Italy– Different from Medieval Art• Medieval Art: (Looks bland)

– Flat (did not look like real)» Disproportionate sizes on people and figures

– All religious topics (mostly salvation)• New Renaissance Art: (Vibrant and bright colors – looks

exciting)– Focused more on individuals– More secular topics/more worldly subject matters – Use of perspective (adds depth to paintings)– More realistic portrayal of human body– Still has a focus on Christianity (just the not only focus)

The Renaissance Revolutionizes Art

• Artistic Styles Change– Artists use realistic style copied from classical art, often

to portray religious subjects– Painters use perspective—a way to show three

dimensions on canvas• Realistic Painting and Sculpture– Realistic portraits of prominent citizens– Sculpture shows natural postures and expressions– The biblical David is a favorite subject among sculptors

(although he looks more like a classical Greek)

Renaissance Revolutionizes Art

• Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)

• True Renaissance Man• Scientist, inventor,

engineer and naturalist• Dissected Corpses• Short attention span• The Vitruvian Man

Studies of a fetus from Leonardo's journals

Leonardo’s Work: Science & Medicine

Investigating the motion of the arm Organs of a Woman’s Body

The Renaissance Revolutionizes Art

• Leonardo, Renaissance Man– Leonardo da Vinci—

painter, sculptor, inventor, scientist

– Paints one of the best-known portraits in the world: the Mona Lisa

– Famous religious painting: The Last Supper

Writers and Painters • Examples of Renaissance Art Work• Leonardo da Vinci’s – “Last Supper” (Fresco = painted on wall)

Mona Lisa =>Oil on Canvas

Michelangelo

• Michelangelo• Neo-Platonist• Ceiling of the Sistine

Chapel• Conflict with Pope Julius

II• Incredible energy and

endurance• “Mannerism”

Another Example (Michelangelo)“DAVID” – biblical figure• Marble Sculpture

“Sistine Chapel” – In the Vatican• Pope commissioned Michelangelo

to paint a giant fresco on the walls of this chapel in the Vatican (head church in Rome)

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, found of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel

The Renaissance Revolutionizes Art

• Raphael Advances Realism– Raphael Sanzio, famous

for his use of perspective– Favorite subject: the

Madonna and child– Famous painting: School

of Athens

School of Athens by Raphael

Renaissance Revolutionizes Art

• How did the methods and subjects in art change?

• Painting became more realistic as a result of the use of perspective; its subject changed to go beyond only the religious.

Renaissance Writers Change Literature

• Renaissance writers also achieved greatness. Several wrote in the vernacular. This means they wrote in their native languages. It was a change from the Middle Ages, when most writing was done in Latin.

• Writers also changed their subject matter. They began to express their own thought and feelings. Sometimes they gave a detailed look at an individual.

Renaissance Writers

• Dante and others wrote poetry, letters, and stories that were more realistic.

• Niccoló Machiavelli took a new approach to understanding government. He focused on telling rulers how to expand their power. He believed rulers should do what was politically effective, even it if was not morally right.

• Renaissance writers wrote about their own thoughts and feelings; they also took a more detailed look at the individual.

Three Geniuses of The Italian Renaissance

Leonardo

Masterpieces include Mona Lisa and The

Last Supper

Studied botany, anatomy, optics,

music architecture, and engineering

Made sketches for flying machines and

undersea boats

Michelangelo

Talented sculptor, engineer, painter,

architect, and poet

Sculpted the Pieta and statue of David

Painted huge mural to decorate the

ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome

Petrarch

Humanist and poet

Wrote sonnets in Italian and Latin –

14-line poems

Contributions of the Renaissance

• Accomplishments in the visual arts: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci.

• Accomplishments in literature (sonnets, plays, essays): Shakespeare

• Accomplishments in intellectual ideas (humanism): Erasmus

Northern Writers Try to Reform Society; The Elizabethan Age

• Writers of the northern Renaissance combined humanism with a deep Christian faith.

• They urged reforms in the Church. They tried to make people more devoted to God. They also wanted society to be more fair.

• In England, Thomas More wrote a book about Utopia, an imaginary ideal society where greed, war, and conflict do not exist.

Spread of Humanism to the Rest of Europe

• Popular publications in the early days of the printing press

• Thomas More--Utopia--Executed by Henry VIII in 1535

• Erasmus—Dutch Christian Humanist

What did northern writers write?

• William Shakespeare is often called the greatest playwright of all time.

• His plays showed a brilliant command of the English language.

• They also show a deep understanding of people and how they interact with one another.

Spread of Humanism to the Rest of Europe (cont)

• William Shakespeare (1564-1616)--Globe Theater

• Shakespeare returns to classical subjects and genres

• His history plays were the most popular at the time

• Macbeth: ambition• Hamlet: individualism• Keen sensitivity to sounds

and meanings of words

Machiavelli’s – The Prince

• An early modern treatise on government• Supported absolute power of the ruler• Maintains that the end justifies the means• Advises that one should do good if possible,

but do evil when necessary

Machiavelli

• Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)-- “The Prince” examines how rulers can gain and keep power

• The goal of the prince must be power

• Cynical view of human nature• Fear is a better motivator than

affection• Politics as the art of deception

Printing Spreads Renaissance Ideas; The Legacy of the Renaissance

• One reason that learning spread so rapidly during the Renaissance was the invention of movable type. (printing press)

• The Chinese had invented the process of carving characters onto wooden blocks. They then arranged them in words, inked the blocks, and pressed them against paper to print pages.

Gutenberg• The significance of Gutenberg’s

printing press• Explosion of printed materials

--By 1500, 40,000 titles printed and between 8-10 million copies

• The impact of movable-type printing presses: research and literacy

• Helped spread ideas before Catholics could stop them

Northern Renaissance

• Growing wealth in Northern Europe Supported Renaissance ideas

• Thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity• The movable type printing press and the

production and sale of books (Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate ideas.

• Northern Renaissance writers – Erasmus – The Praise of Folly (1511) – Sir Thomas More – Utopia (1516)

The Printing Revolution• A printing revolution took place when: In 1456,

Johann Gutenberg printed the Bible using the first printing press and printing inks.

• Impact:• Printed books were cheaper and easier to produce.• With books more readily available, more people

learned to read. (vernacular)• Readers gained access to a broad range of

knowledge and ideas.

Printing Spreads Renaissance Ideas

• Printing made it easier to make many copies of a book. As a result, written works became available far and wide.

• Books were printed in English, French, Spanish, Italian, or German. More people began to read. The Bible was a popular book.

• After reading the Bible, some people formed new ideas about Christianity. These ideas were different from the official teachings of the Church.

Role of the Printing Press

• Growth of literacy was stimulated by the Gutenberg printing press.

• The Bible was printed in English, French, and German.

• These factors had a important impact on spreading the ideas of the Reformation and the Renaissance.

Printing Spreads Renaissance Ideas

• The Renaissance prompted changes in both art and society. Artists and writers portrayed people in more realistic ways and celebrated individual achievement.

• In a larger sense, the Renaissance opened up a world of new ideas to people and led them to examine and question things more closely.

The Legacy of the Renaissance

• What effects did the printing press have on northern European life?

• People read more (literacy expanded). They also began to read the Bible on their own (printed in different languages), which led to their forming their own ideas about Christianity. Made the spread of the Renaissance and Reformation faster and easier.

Changing cultural values, traditions, and philosophies

• Growth of secularism• Growth of individualism• Eventual growth of religious tolerance