Renaissance Vocabulary

Flashcards of key vocabulary from the lecture notes about the Renaissance.

Renaissance

A period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 1400s-1600s, characterized by a revival of interest in classical art and literature.

Humanism

A philosophy emphasizing human potential and reason, promoting learning and celebrating human achievements.

"Renaissance Man"

A person with wide interests and expertise in many areas, reflecting the Renaissance ideal of well-rounded individuals.

Commercial Revolution

The increased trade and economic activity in Europe, contributing to the Renaissance by providing wealth and time for cultural and intellectual pursuits.

Shift in Thinking

A shift in thinking away from a sole focus on religion and towards human beings, their surroundings, and new knowledge.

Patronage

The act of supporting artists and intellectuals, as shown by the Medici family, which helped foster creativity during the Renaissance.

Perspective

The representation of objects in three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface, creating a more realistic image in Renaissance art.

Pyramid Configuration

An artistic technique used in Renaissance paintings that creates a focal point and implies spiritual ascent from earth to heaven.

Fresco

A painting done on a wall or ceiling by applying pigments to wet plaster.

Usury

The practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest, which was a concern during the Renaissance.

Reason

A quality valued by Renaissance thinkers, involving inquiry, experimentation, and embracing the wisdom of Greeks and Romans.

Flourish

To grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment

Medici Family

A prominent banking and political family in Florence during the Renaissance, known for their patronage of the arts.

A "Prince"

According to Machiavelli, not necessarily a royal figure by birth, but rather any ruler or political leader who holds power over a state.

What was the Renaissance

• A shift in thinking.

• People think less about religion and more about themselves, their surroundings, & new types of knowledge.

• A time of creativity (i.e. thinking outside the box) in which every sector of society was affected.

When was the Renaissance

The Renaissance (1400s -1600s)  Renaissance = “rebirth”

The Crusades + Black Death + Commercial Revolution + shifts in Feudalism = interest in other subjects

Humanism and the renaissance?

• umanism is a philosophy that inspired Renaissance thinkers.

  • Without Humanism, all the achievements of the Renaissance probably wouldn’t have happened!

• Use the reading to try to figure out what values Humanism supported?

• umanism is a philosophy that inspired Renaissance thinkers.

  • Without Humanism, all the achievements of the Renaissance probably wouldn’t have happened!

• Use the reading to try to figure out what values Humanism supported?

• Humanist ideas clashed with the Church.

• But Humanists WERE NOT atheists. There was less focus on God, but people still personally believed in their faith.

• Humanists believed God wanted humans to expand their knowledge.

Humanism emphasized this life, rather than overemphasizing the afterlife.

Humanism + the Commercial Revolution (causes) = The Renaissance (effect).

• people needed Humanism’s philosophical aspirations and motivations AND... 

• the free time and wealth provided by the Commercial Revolution…

• …made Renaissance achievements possible. 

Why was Italy the starting point of the renaissance

• A result of the Crusades was increased trade with the Middle East (and later Asia).  

• Most of the trade routes went through Italy - Venice & Genoa.

• Italy became the gateway for European trade, with the Middle East or Asia.

• Italy = center of Mediterranean world & connected Europe and Middle East.

• Humanism emphasized education and learning from the classical cultures (Greece and Rome).  

• For Western Europeans, Italy was a place where people could literally see artifacts from Classical Rome to inspire them.

Where did Brunelleschi travel for research on solving the problem of The Dome of Florence?

The panteheonon

Was Italy united

No

• Florence became the center of the Renaissance: most of the new ideas originated there.

• Italians did not identify as Italian, but rather as Roman, Venetian, Florentine, etc.

  • Identities were local!

How did the man italian city states help the renaiisance thrive

• Competition between city-states caused them to innovate. 

• There was a lot of economic activity in each city. 

• Wealth-generation. 

• Rising standard of living. 

Medici impact

• The Medicis were patrons of the arts.  They had the money to fund the artwork of artists like Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Donatello.

• The art that the Medicis funded made Florence famous. 

• The Medicis simultaneously revolutionized business/banking.

• They were a family in the right place at the right time…with a lot of money!

So why would the Medici become patrons of the arts?

1. religious - the church granted that usurers could buy salvation = heaven.
   
   

2. political - gain support of the people in the Republic of Florence = protection.

economic - appearance of belonging to the bank’s amici del amici. = prestige.

Perspective

• Medieval Paintings were flat and two dimensional

  • NOTE! Many scholars believed that this lack of perspective was a STYLE, not an absence of ability. 

• Renaissance paintings used vanishing lines of perspective to focus the viewer’s eye.

• This is one of the most significant innovations of Renaissance art.

Pyramic Configuration

• Medieval rigid formal portraits and horizontal groupings gave way to a more three dimensional pyramid.

• Apex is focus, supported by lower positions.

• Implies the Holy Trinity.

• Conveys spiritual ascent from earth to heaven.

• Organized space.

• Works with perspective.

Reniasance art and classical values

Reflected classical values from Greece and Rome

• Free standing (untethered from religious contexts)

• Depicts motion

• Physical beauty idealized

• Use of nudity (humanism)

5 breakthoughr in renaissance art

• Less religious themes; more focus on Humanism/naturalism and education 

• More realistic images using light and shadow; realistic proportions portrayed

• Use of bright colors and oil paints on canvas 

• Perspective

• Pyramid Configuration

How did Da Vinci’s art differ and how did it affect society?

• Da Vinci’s artwork highlighted scientific knowledge.

• He frequently challenged current knowledge of the time and observed the world closely.  

• He was interested in many scientific topics (astronomy, physiology, anatomy, etc)

• For example, he rejected the belief that the moon had its own source of light. 

• Instead, he observed it and concluded that the sun’s light reflected the moon.  He concluded this by observing the moon for many days.

Why did Brunelleschi want the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore to reflect the classics?

• Brunelleschi was a famous Florentine architect who wanted to celebrate classical forms (Greece and Rome).

• He wanted to elevate the status of Florence (remember, city states were competing).

• Brunelleschi was a grumpy architectural genius.  

• One of the Medicis eventually befriended him and realized that he was gifted. 

• The Medicis united money and genius to produce a golden age for Florence.

Medicci versus Pazzi

The Pazzi Conspiracy, orchestrated by the Pazzi family, was a plot to overthrow the Medici family's control of Florence in 1478. The Pazzi, a prominent Florentine banking family, sought to regain influence they had lost to the rising power of the Medici, particularly Lorenzo de' Medici. The conspiracy also involved the Pope, who resented Lorenzo's actions, and resulted in the assassination of Giuliano de' Medici during a church service. 

The Pazzi family harbored a deep hatred for the Medici family due to a combination of political rivalry, personal resentment, and financial setbacks stemming from the Medici's dominance in Renaissance Florence. The Pazzi, a wealthy and noble Florentine family, resented the Medici's rise from humble beginnings to become the de facto rulers of Florence, and the Medici's efforts to curtail the Pazzi's power further fueled their animosity. 

Why did Michelangelo struggle as a Renaissance artists?

• He was deeply religious but also a humanist.

• He tried to serve his inner human potential but many of his masterpieces had religious themes.

• When asked to paint scenes from the Bible inside the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo resisted. He considered himself a sculptor, not a painter.

• It took 4 years to paint and he basically did it all by himself!

hOW ARE the popes?

Not great, some are fine others are really bad

Why were books like
The Courtier and The Prince
published during the Renaissance?

• Conflicting ideas about philosophy, politics, and religion were all hitting society at the same time, so people were starting to feel confused.

• It became VERY POPULAR to publish“ how to” books.

• They helped to guide people through life by learning from an expert.

What were the basic
views of Castiglione? 

Castiglione

• “The Courtier” was a guidebook for court officials to follow, but gradually people thought it reflected values of any good citizen.

• He argued that proper citizens needed to engage in many fields of academics in order to have a well-rounded personality.

• Education was essential for success and it was how you won respect in Renaissance society.

• Castiglione labelled such persons, “The Universal Man”.  Now we refer to such a well-rounded pursuant of knowledge person as a “Renaissance Man”. 

Who was Machiavelli?

What was The Prince?

• The book’s theme: POWER - How to get it, keep it, and avoid losing it.

• The Prince was the first modern guide to politics.

• Machiavelli worked as an official under the Medici and other political figures in the Florentine Republic.

• With the Medici returned to Florence, they dismissed Machiavelli from office, later imprisoning and torturing him for his role in The Battle of Prato.

• Most scholars believe Machiavelli wrote The Prince as an attempt to regain Medici favor.  A few scholars believe the book was written to lampoon them.

the ends justify the means