The Renaissance

The “Re-Birth” of
European Art and
Learning
The “Re-Birth” Begins
The Renaissance
began in Northern
Italy and lasted
from 1300 to 1600.
It was spurned by
the rediscovery of
Greek and Roman
texts and contact
with Islamic lands
to the East.
Why did it start in Italy?
http://www.coloradocollege.edu/Dept/HY/Ashley/hy105/Map_-_Medieval_Trade_Routes_and_Regional_Products.JPG

Proximity to trade routes.

Contact with
Mediterranean world
(Islamic and Jewish
scholars)
Established cities where
rich merchants could
sponsor artists and
students.
First universities were
established in Paris and
Bologna, Italy. Students
were mostly sons of
merchants and destined for
work in church or state.
Humanism

The study of Roman and Greek texts

propelled humanism, an intellectual
movement that focused on human
potential and achievements.
Humanism marked a break between
intellectual study and the teachings of
the Catholic church.
Art
Renaissance artists used a
realistic style modeled on
Greek and Roman
sculpture.
Literature
Translation of Greek, Roman, and Arabic
texts to Latin helped fuel the
Renaissance, but the most important
literary advance was the use of the
vernacular.
Vernacular-native language spoken on an
everyday basis; common language
Dante’s Inferno was the first example of the
use of vernacular in Renaissance literature.
An English Example:
“All the world's a
stage,
And all the men and
women merely
players;
They have their exits
and their entrances,
And one man in his
time plays many parts,
His acts being seven
ages.” William
Shakespeare.
Renaissance Spreads
By 1450, Northern European populations
were beginning to rebound after being
decimated by the Bubonic Plague.
The Hundred Years’ War between France
and England ended in 1453 ushering in an
era of relative peace.
European cities began to grow as trade
increased and improving economies led to
the rise of a merchant class (middle class)
able to support the arts.
The Amolfini Wedding, Jan van Eyck (Bruges)
Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel
Donatello: David in bronze and The Virgin and Child, Sant’
Antonio, Padua