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Spider Quiz 2

Thinkers & Ideas

  • Machiavelli – Italian political thinker; wrote The Prince, arguing rulers should use any means necessary to keep power (“better to be feared than loved”).

  • Civic Humanism – Humanism applied to politics; belief that educated citizens should serve their city-state.

  • Petrarch – “Father of Humanism”; revived interest in classical texts, wrote sonnets, emphasized human achievement.

  • Hermeticism – Belief that humans can control nature through magic and knowledge; tied to the study of alchemy and astrology.

  • Neoplatonism – Renaissance philosophy blending Plato’s ideas with Christianity; emphasized spiritual love and connecting the human soul to God.

  • Lorenzo Valla – Humanist scholar; proved the Donation of Constantine (which gave power to the pope) was a forgery.

  • Liberal Studies – Renaissance education (history, grammar, poetry, math, philosophy, music, etc.); aimed to create well-rounded citizens.

  • Guicciardini – Historian; used evidence and analysis to study politics; wrote History of Italy and History of Florence.

  • Johannes Gutenberg – Invented the printing press with movable type; helped spread Renaissance and Reformation ideas.

Artists & Patrons (Italian Renaissance)

  • Leonardo da Vinci – “Renaissance Man”; artist (Mona Lisa, Last Supper), inventor, scientist, engineer.

  • Masaccio – Early Renaissance painter; used perspective and realism (The Tribute Money).

  • Lorenzo the Magnificent – Medici ruler of Florence; patron of the arts, supported artists like Michelangelo and Botticelli.

  • Sandro Botticelli – Painter; famous for Birth of Venus and Primavera, used mythological themes.

  • Donatello – Sculptor; created lifelike statues, including bronze David, the first free-standing nude since antiquity.

  • Raphael – Painter; known for harmony and beauty, painted School of Athens and Madonna portraits.

  • Michelangelo – Sculptor, painter, architect; works include marble David, Sistine Chapel ceiling, St. Peter’s Dome.

  • Filippo Brunelleschi – Architect; designed Florence Cathedral dome (Il Duomo), pioneer of linear perspective.

Northern Renaissance Artists

  • Jan van Eyck – Flemish painter; perfected oil painting, known for detailed realism (Arnolfini Portrait).

  • Albrecht Dürer – German artist; “Leonardo of the North,” combined Italian styles with northern detail; famous for woodcuts and engravings.