Influenced by both Medieval

The Southern and Classical civilizations, the

Renaissance served as a bridge
(Italian) between the Middle Ages and
modern times
Renaissance
:
ncepts
Key Co
ism
Human litics
o
Italian P
t io n
Educa nce Art
is s a Key Fig
Rena ur
Petrar es: ● Period of cultural rebirth
ch
Machia
velli
Dante
● Renewed interest in
classical cultures

● Emphasis on the individual

 Why Italy?
● Prosperous cities
The Medici Family
● Political independence & social
fluidity

● Changing attitudes toward

society, education and art
A.1
 Italian Politics
● Nobles replaced with urban elite
Machiavelli
● Concentrated political power in
a family or a small group of
rulers

A.2
○ Mercenary armies

○ Machiavelli’s The Prince

 Renaissance Ideas:
Humanism

Cicero ● Revival of Classical ideals

● Focus shifted from theology to

humanity

● Belief in duty to an active civic

B.1 life

Glorified the human form,

human intellect, and individual
human accomplishment
 Renaissance Ideas:
Versatility

Da Vinci ● “Renaissance Man”

● Leonardo Da Vinci
○ Florence 1452
○ Illegitimate son of a
peasant
B.2 ○ Believed seeing was a
form of knowing
○ Studied nature to better
represent it artistically
○ Painter, draftsman,
sculptor, engineer,
architect, and inventor
 Renaissance Literature:
Petrarch

Petrarch ● Tuscan intellectual and poet

who began as a lawyer and
became a cleric, diplomat,
traveller, and scholar

● Collected classical manuscripts,

C.1 rediscovered Cicero’s letters,

and advocated return to pure
Latin

● Wrote love sonnets in the

vernacular

● His use of language would shape

modern Italian
 Father of Italian Humanism
● Criticized the medieval period
Petrarch as a “Dark Age”

● Saw moral and practical value

in Classics

Argued that human potential

C.1
●
was a gift from God

● Verse became model for lyric

poetry for centuries
 1327, Petrarch glimpsed
Sonnet LV Laura, who he revered as
the female ideal. His
Not all the spells of the magician's art, 16-year-old muse became a
Not potent herbs, nor travel o'er the main, permanent source of poetic
But those sweet eyes alone can soothe my pain,
And they which struck the blow must heal the smart;
inspiration
Petrarch Those eyes from meaner love have kept my heart,
Content one single image to retain,
And censure but the medium wild and vain,
If ill my words their honey'd sense impart;
These are those beauteous eyes which never fail
To prove Love's conquest, wheresoe'er they shine,
Although my breast hath oftenest felt their fire;
These are those beauteous eyes which still assail
Laura
And penetrate my soul with sparks divine,
So that of singing them I cannot tire.
 Renaissance Literature:
Dante

Dante ● Florentine intellectual and poet

who began as a poet and became
a moral philosopher, political
official, and public figure in the
late Medieval period

C.2 ● Encouraged to put his intellect

to the service of his city by his
beloved teacher, Latini

● Advocated use of the vernacular

to educate Italians

● His exile from Florence would

profoundly impact his writing
and thinking
 Dante first sighted Beatrice
when they are both only 9
years old. Like Laura,
Renaissance Literature: Beatrice would become a
Dante muse and figure of the ideal.
● Most famous for The Divine
Dante Comedy

● Epic poem in vernacular Italian

● Narrator is led by Roman poet

C.2
Virgil on a journey through hell
and purgatory by the request of
Beatrice, who continues his
journey through heaven
 Renaissance Education

● Focus on well-rounded citizens

Bruni
● Civic humanism

● Northern thinkers would take

this renaissance education back Liberal
Arts
to Northern Europe
D.
 Renaissance Art

● Painting
Giotto
○ More realistic figures
and backgrounds

○ Perspective and the

known light source
E.1
 Renaissance Art

● Sculpture that glorified human

Michelangelo beings

E.2
 Renaissance Art

● Architecture
Brunelleschi
○ Borrowed columns,
horizontal lines, domes and
arches

○ Revolt against Gothic

E.3 architecture

Visit Italy
 Renaissance Art

Mona Lisa
● High Renaissance Masters Leonardo
were prolific, versatile, and
masterful Michelangelo

E.4
Raphael
Titian