9th Grade History: Renaissance (Notes)

late Middle Ages was characterized by

plague survivors celebrated life and human spirit
questioned long stable institutions

Italy
- birthplace of the renaissance
- crusades trade
- urban/secular society-cities are breeding grounds for new ideas, revolution
- age of recovery (part of it was rebirth of interest in the Ancient Greek and Roman cultures) plague caused many people to pursue interests outside of business
- new view of Human Beings-individual ability

Florence
birthplace of Italian Renaissance

Florence and the Medici family
- 1434-Cosimo de Medici takes over city-state of Florence
- Medici were powerful banking and wealthiest family in Europe; political ties all over world
- dictator of Florence until his death in 1464
- several popes & 2 queens of France were Medici Family members
- Lorenzo, Cosimo's grandson, takes over as dictator in 1469
- Lorenzo 'the Magnificent' was a great patron of the arts

Humanism
an intellectual movement of the renaissance

details of humanism
- based on the study of the classics-Greek & Roman
- studied humanities
- stressed importance of education & use of Latin
- Petrarch said intellectual life was one of solitude, but not all humanists agreed

humanities
grammar
rhetoric
poetry
philosophy
history

Petrarch
father of humanism

Lenardo da Vinci is
ultimate Renaissance man

details of Leonardo da Vince
painter
sculptor
architect
inventor
mathematician

Lenardo da Vinci was
- universal person, capable of achievements in many areas of life
- the well-rounded was celebrated

Leon Baptism Alberti said
men can do all things, if they will

renaissance artists focused on
realism
perspective

realism
- copied realistic style of classical artists of ancient Greece & Rome
- human form also became popular

perspective
technique showing 3 Dimensions on a flat surface

Donatello
- 1st European sculpture of large free-standing nude since ancient times
- about 5 ft tall
made of bronze

fresco
painting done on wet plaster w/ water-based paints

Masaccio
- 1st great painter of Renaissance
- his frescoes are considered the 1st masterpieces of early renaissance art (1400-1490)
- his figures have depth b/c he used laws of perspective creating illusion of 3 dimensions

on Masaccio's tomb
what you are & once was; what I am, you will be
(reminds viewer of their own mortality)

Masaccio painted
Trinity, 1425-1428

Milan
city-state located in north at crossroads of the main trade routes between the coast and Alpine passes

Sforza Family
ruled Milan after 1447 he made himself duke

Milan was
strong centralized state
had tax system to fund the government

Venice
vital link between Asia & Western Europe, traders from all over world came

Venice was
- republic w/ a Doge
- international power

Doge
small group of wealthy merchants ran the city, to serve their interests

Girolamo Suvonarola(1452-1498)
- opportunist; Dominican pastor
- believed Florence to be 'mew Jerusalem'
- condemned life of the Medicis excessive
- won support of people & control of Florence for a while
- ultimately sentenced to death for heresy in 1498

Italian wars (1494-1527)
- Charles VIII (France) led army of 30,000 into Italy & occupied Naples
- North Italy asks Spain for help
- 30 years Spain & France use Italy as personal battleground
- 1527-spanish soldiers sack Some as their 'payment for services'; blood bath, but then it is over

Leonardo da Vinci
- mastered realistic painting
- stressed need to advance beyond realism

Leonardo da Vinci goal
create idealized forms capturing perfection of nature and the individual

Mona Lisa
- famous for mystery surrounding identity
- enigmatic smile
- high degree of skill evident in painting

Mona Lisa subject
said to be Lisa Gherardici

Lisa Gherardici
wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant, Francesco Gioconda

Mona
my lady

The Last Supper
- located in the Santa Marte delle finite monastary in Milan, Italy
- by Leonardo da Vinci

Raphael
- by age 25 he was one of Italy's best painters
- did painting for Pope Julius II; famous for use of perspective
- most famous for madonnas; pics of Virgin Mary b/c of gentle and calmness

Raphael Sanzio
school of Athens
The Virgin and Child (chalk)

David
- crowning achievement of the Renaissance
- by Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti
accomplished painter, sculptor, & architect

Michelangelo's figures
- reveal an ideal type of human being w/ perfect proportions
- the more beautiful the body the more god-like the figure

ceiling of the Sistine chapel
commissioned by Pope Julius II

on ceiling of Sistine Chapel
The Deluge
The Creation of Adam

La Pieta
'The Compassion' housed in the Vatican City

Artemesia Gentileschi
- Female artist from Rome, Italy
- trained w/ her father who was Renaissance painter
- Madonna w/ child is 1st work at 16

Sofonisba Anguissola
- 1st female artist to gain international reputation
- known for portraits of her sisters & prominent people (Phillip II of Spain)
- self portrait

Filippo Brunellesci
Italian architect who was inspired by buildings of classical Rome to create a new architecture in Florence

Brunellesci
- hired by Medici's to build Church of Sam Lorenzo in Florence
- style does not overwhelm worshipper as Gothic Cathedrals might
- church provided comfort as a space created for the human, not the diving (human-centered)

Renaissance literature
vernacular
- Petrarch
- Boccaccio

Boccaccio
Decameron
series of realistic stories using humor to illustrate human condition

Baldassare Castiglione
The Book of the Courtier

The Book of the Courtier
- a noble was born, not made
- nobles wee expected to have talent, character, & grace
- were expected to be warriors & gain a classical education and enrich life w/ the arts
- noble was expected to follow a standard of conduct, show achievements w/ grace, & ultimate goal was serve your prince w/ honesty

noble ultimate goal
serve your prince w/ honesty

Raphael Sanzio painted
portrait of Baldassare Castiglione

The Prince
- one of most influential works on political power in western world
- Concerns how to get & keep power
- 'the end justifies the means...'
- explains no amount of religious conviction should stand in way of making political decisions; human nature is self-interested

Niccolo Machiavelli
The Prince

Machiavelli said
one can make this generalization about men, they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, & cleceaers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit

Machiavellian
describes using claver & dishonest means to get what is wanted

Vernacuar Literature
Dante
- Italian
- Divine/comedy
- story of the soul's journey to salvation: through Hell, Heaven, and Purgatory

Geoffrey Chaucer
- English
- author of The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales
- story of 29 pilgrims journeying to Tomb of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury
- portrays Range of English society

William Shakespeare
- Elizabethan Era
- appeared in London. in 1592
- 'Complete man of the theater'
- showed understanding of the human condition

'complete man of the theater'
actor, playwright, theater owner

printing press
- invented by Johann Gutenberg form Mainz, Germany
- Gutenberg Bible printed was 1st full sized book printed w/ movable type

Christine de Pizan
- French
- The book of the City of Ladies
- denounced male writers who said women were unable to learn
- stated women needed equal opportunity to education

Northern Renaissance was different from Italy
- centered in Flanders, in Northern Europe
- oil-based paints ere used allowing more detailed painting; vibrant colors
- works involved more people detailing their individuality
- painting on a smaller scale; books of illustration

Jan van Eyck
Portrait of Giovanni Arndfini & wife

Albrecht Durer
Adoration of the Magi

Hans Holbein
Portrait of King Henry VIII of England

Pieter Brueghel
The Peasant Wedding 
Netherlandish Proverbs