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The Italian Renaissance, the Northern Renaissance, Printing, and the New Monarchies

• LG 1-1: Explain the context in which the Renaissance developed.

• What’s context?

• It’s the setting of an event—what was happening at the time of the event

• You can understand the SIGNIFICANCE of an event ONLY when you understand the CONTEXT in which it

happened

• the context will show you how and why the event is so important

• LG 1-1: Explain the context in which the Renaissance developed.

• The intellectuals of the Renaissance realized they were embracing ideas that would change society, so they created words to

separate themselves from the past

• “Dark Ages”, “medieval” or “middle age” were created by scholars of 1400s to “insult” the past (Petrarch did this)

• “Renaissance” was created by Vasari to distinguish his period as period of “rebirth” of Greco-Roman thought

• LG 1-1: Explain the context in which the Renaissance developed.

• the context of Catholic Church (Christian) domination of Europe

• Catholic Church (Christian) said

• The classics (Greco-Roman literature) were studied to understand God and the after-life and were accepted

as TRUTH

• Individual achievement and vanity were not important as the Christian community and humility

• The purpose of life was to prepare for the after-life and to prove you belonged in heaven

• The context of Italy’s location and wealth

• Location: Italians were literally living on top of the ancient Greco-Roman ruins

• Money: Italy was at the crossroads of trade from the middle east, so it had the $$ to patronize intellectuals and pay

artists

• LG 1-2: Identify and describe the three main ideas of Renaissance thought

• Medieval: studied classics (Greek/Roman literature) to understand God

• Focus on after-life

• Accepted classics as truth (scholasticism)

• Renaissance humanism: studied classics to understand human nature and uniqueness of humans

• Focus on “humanities” or “liberal arts” to recapture classical past

 Language, literature, rhetoric, history

• Criticized classics

• LG 1-2: Describe how was humanism expressed in literature, scholarship, and art.

• Literature and scholarship

• Donation of Constantine (Lorenzo Valla)

• used textual criticism to show Roman emperor did NOT turn western Roman empire over to pope in 4th

century

 document used word “fief’—that word didn’t exist in 4th century! (Church wrote document in 8th

century to JUSTIFY their power)

• On the Dignity of Man (Pico della Mirandola)

• Said MAN was special because he was the link between the spiritual (God) and material (other creatures);

MAN was both spiritual and material—BUT men educated in liberal arts were closer to God

• Art/architecture

• Dome of Florence (Brunelleschi)

• 1st dome in western Europe since collapse of Roman empire (domes were classical)

• The School of Athens (Raphael)

• Plato, Aristotle in classical structure

• Utilizes single point perspective

• LG 1-2: Identify and describe the three main ideas of Renaissance thought

• #2: individualism: the Renaissance celebrated great individual achievements, especially from those who came from modest

backgrounds

• Medieval: Christianity discouraged self-absorption and vanity

• Renaissance: those who were great possessed VIRTU, or the ability to shape the world and influence others

• LG 1-2: Describe how was individualism expressed in literature, scholarship, and art.

• Literature and scholarship

• On the Dignity of Man (Pico della Mirandola)

 man is special because God made him in His image (post quotation)

• The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini (Cellini)

• Art

• Self Portrait (Albrecht Duerer)

• Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci)

• LG 1-2: Identify and describe the three main ideas of Renaissance thought

• Medieval: focus was on life after death and religion

• Life focused on spiritual

• Church dominated all aspects of life

• Renaissance: dominant ideals shifted toward “here and now”

• Individual sensual gratification was OK

 Art, sculpture, music, food, clothes

• Politics was non-religious

• LG 1-2: Describe how was secularism expressed in literature, scholarship, and art.

• Literature and scholarship

• Donation of Constantine (Lorenzo Valla)

• Church is NOT infallible

• The Prince (Machiavelli)

• How a ruler should gain, maintain, and increase POWER

• Hamlet and Macbeth (Shakespeare)

• Art

• David (Michelangelo)

• Religious theme used to inspire Florentines to resist Milan’s power

• Glorified perfect human body

• School of Athens (Raphael)

• LG 1-2: Explain the political and cultural effects of the Italian Renaissance

• Political

• democracy was promoted: Admiration of Greco-Roman political methods (“democracy”) made Italian city-states

more democratic

• Civic humanism: intellectuals should participate in government and promote participation

• Catholic Church was challenged

• Humanism called for liberal arts (not just religious topics)

• Humanism called for critical readings of texts (like Bible!)

• Rulers and popes used art to enhance their power and prestige (geometric perspective; naturalism)

• Julius II patronized Michelangelo to paint the Sistene Chapel

• Medici of Florence patronized art

• Cultural

• Paintings and architecture focused on

• Classical styles (arches, domes, proportion)

• Naturalism (more realistic looking)

• Geometric perspective

•

• LG 1-3: Explain how Renaissance ideas were developed, maintained, and changed as the Renaissance spread to northern

Europe.

• Christian humanism developed and initiated religious reform