The Renaissance in Italy
The Italian City-States
• Renaissance was marked by new interest
in Ancient Rome
• Cities survived the Middle ages
• Powerful merchant class was created due
to increase trade
• Education and art was stressed
Florence and the Medicis
• Florence was the heart of the
Renaissance
• The Medici family were major patrons of
the arts
A New Worldview
• Time of rebirth after the destruction of the
Middle Ages
• New attitudes toward culture and learning
• Scholars focused on life on Earth rather
then life after death
• New emphasis on individual achievement
Spirit of Adventure
• New curiosity to explore new worlds
• Christopher Columbus
• Copernicus
Humanism
• Based on the study of classic cultures
• Education should stimulate creativity
• Main areas of study were grammar,
rhetoric, poetry, and history
• Francesco Petrarch assembled a library of
Greek and Roman works
• Wrote Sonnets to Laura
Humanist Concerns
• Art normally portrayed religious figures
against Greek and Roman backdrops
• Portraits of well known figures
• Donatello created a life size statue of a
soldier on horseback which was the first
since ancient times
New Techniques
• New techniques were created to represent
both humans and landscapes realistically
• Used perspective
• Painters shaded objects and sculptures
drew from live models
Women Artists
• Sofonisba Anguissola became the court
painter for King Phillip II of Spain
Architecture
• Gothic style was rejected and Greek and
Roman architecture was used again
• Filippo Brunelleschi created a majestic
dome
Leonardo
• Made sketches of nature and drew the
anatomy of the body
• Painted the Mona Lisa and the Last
supper
• Interests included botany, anatomy, optics,
music, architecture, and engineering
• Made sketches of flying machines,
submarines, and tanks
Michelangelo
• Sculpted the Pieta which show Mary and
she cradles Christ
• Created the statue of David
• Painted the mural on the Sistine Chapel
• Created the dome of St. Peters Cathedral
Raphael
• Studied Leonardo and Michelangelo
• Blended Christian and classical styles
• The School of Athens
Castiglione’s Ideal Courtier
• The Book of Courier
• Describes the manners, skills, learning,
and virtues that people of the court should
have
• Wrote descriptions of ideal men and
women
Machiavelli’s Successful Prince
• The Prince is a guide to show rulers how
to maintain power
• Rulers should use whatever means
necessary to achieve their goals
• Proved a realistic look at politics
The Renaissance Moves North
Artists of the Northern Renaissance
• Began in Belgium and the Netherlands
• Germany, Italy, and Spain would start 100
years later in the 1500’s
A “German Leonardo”
• Albrecht Durer studied the techniques of
the Italian masters
• Specialized engravings
• Portrayed religious upheaval of the day
• Using essays would help spread
Renaissance ideas to northern Europe
Flemish Painters
• Jan and Hubert van Eyck made portrayals
of townspeople as well as religious scenes
• Peter Bruegel used vibrant colors to show
daily peasant life
• Peter Paul Rubens blended realistic
tradition with classical themes
Northern Humanists
• Stressed education and classical learning
• Emphasized religious themes
• New learning should bring about religious
and moral reform
Erasmus
• Dutch and priest produced a new Greek
edition of the New Testament
• Called for the bible to be translated into
vernacular
• The Praise of Folly
• Used humor to expose immoral behavior
Others
• Thomas More pressed for social reform
• Wrote Utopia
• Describes the ideal society
Rebelais
• French humanist that was a monk,
physician, Greek scholar, and author
• Wrote Gargantua and Pantagruel
• Adventure of two gentle giants
• Offered opinions on religion, education,
and other serious subjects
Shakespeare
• English poet and playwright who wrote 37
plays
• Twelfth Night, Richards III, and Romeo
and Juliet
• Created 1700 words for the English
language
Cervantes
• Wrote the book Don Quixote
• A tale the mocks romantic notions of
medieval chivalry
