Renaissance

Renaissance The Renaissance• “Renaissance” means Rebirth.• Rebirth of the learning and culture of the Classical period.• The Classical period refers to the period in which the European thinkers and artists studied the learning and art of ancient Greece and Rome.

Basic Characteristics1. Renaissace scholars were interested in rediscovering the works of both the Greek and Roman writers.2. Renaissance artists were interested in other forms of art such as sculpture, architecture, and painting.

The important intellectual knowledge was humanism. 2 different meanings• Humanism is dignity of man as the most excellent of all God’s creatures below the angels.• Humanism is a program of study which emphasized subjects concerned with language, literature, history and ethics. (education could help people improve themselves and reach their full potential)

• Birthplace of the Renaissance is Italy.• The main reasons - Italians were closest to legacy of Ancient Roman culture (Center of Roman Civilization) - Patronage system - Bourgeois (the middle class:wealthy merchants) patronized artists and humanists (scholars who promoted humanism).

• The most famous patrons were the Medici family in Florence.• Lorenzo de’Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent) and Pope Leo X (Lorenzo de’Medici’s son)• The center of artistic activities was Florence.

The Italian Renaissance Writers1.Francis Petrarch• Introduction of Humanism program “Father of Humanism”• Introduction of Italian sonnets[Petrarchan sonnets] (sonnets : short poems expressing love and emotion) “Father of the Renaissance literature”

2. Pico della Mirandola• Oration on the Dignity of Man (an essay) “There is nothing to be seen more wonderful than man...”

3. Baldassare Castiglione• The book of the Courtier - Giving advice to men and women on good behavior - The model for the Renaissance man (the well- rounded person) - The concept of women’s role to society

4 Niccolo Machiavelli (the greatest political philosopher of Italian Renaissance)• The Prince (policies and practices of government) - At times rulers should behave like a lion(aggressive and powerful) and at other times like a fox (cunning and practical). - rulers should be ready to use force and deceit to keep power - influenced thoughts and actions of future rulers

Italian Renaissance Art1. Painting• Two important schools of painting 1. The Florentine school 2. The Venetian school

The Florentine School1.1 Giotto• Linear perspective (method of representing three dimentions in painting)

1.2 Masaccio• Painting of nude figures• The technique of light and shade (Chiaroscuro)• The technique of applying anatomy

1.3 Sandro Botticelli• The Birth of Venus (religious theme)

1.4 Leonardo da Vinci (High Renaissance period)• Naturalist and the Renaissance man

• A master of soft modeling in light and shade• His masterpieces 1.The Virgin of the Rocks (the Louvre Museum) - It shows his technical skill and belief in the universe as a well-ordered place.

2. The Last Supper (Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan) - It shows portrait of man’s psychological reactions.

3. The Mona Lisa (the Louvre Museum) -It is a life-like portrait of the wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

1.5 Raphael (High Renaissance period)• Naturalist and humanist• The School of Athens (The conflict between Plato and Aristotel)

1.6 Michelangelo (High Renaissance period)• Idealist and individualist• His paintings expressed religious theme.

• His masterpieces 1. The Creation of Adam

2. The Last Judgement

• All of his paintings located in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

The Venetian SchoolCharacteristics 1. The Venetian painters expressed landscape and natural beauty of Venice. 2. The Venetian painters emphasized decoration and colorful painting.

• The outstanding members 1. Giorgione 2. Titian

2. Sculpture 2.1 Donatello - David by Donatello - The Gattamelata (the equestrian statue)

2.2 Michelangelo (the greatest sculptor ofRenaissance)• David : Michelangelo (Humanistic marble sculpture) glorifies the human body• Pieta : the most perfect marble sculpture ever made• Moses

• Styles of Michelangelo’s works - Optimistic style (principle of harmony and beauty) - Mannerism or Pessimistic style (principle of tension and distortion)

3. Architecture• The Romanesque style (combines Gothic style and Roman architecture)• St.Peter’s Basilica in Rome (patronized by Pope Julius II and Leo X and designed by Bramante and Michelangelo)

The Waning of the Italian Renaissance 1. Wars• French king VS. Italian rulers• In 1527, King Charles V, Spanish and German leader sacked Rome, Italy.• He took Milan and Naples.• Foreigners took over patronage system.

2. The Counter-Reformation• The Roman Catholic Church firmed control over thought and art. - The Council of Trent - The Roman Inquisition

The Northern RenaissanceThe intellectual exchanges between the Northern Europeans and the Italian scholars - Northern European students - The Decline of patronage system

• The important northern Renaissance intellectual knowledge is Christian humanism.• It explains the knowledge of language, literature, history and ethics.• It emphasizes religious theme rather than secular theme.

The Northern Renaissance Writers1. Erasmus (Most famous of all Northern humanist) The Greek New Testament - Translation of Bible from Latin to Greek language

Northern Renaissance Architecture• Romanesque style• Northern Renaissance building is the Louvre Museum (by Pierre Lescot).

Northern Renaissance Painter1. Albrecht Durer (German painter)First northerner artist to master Italian renaissance techniques.• Knight, Death, and Devil (religious theme) - Italian Linear perspectives

Scientific Accomplishment during the RenaissancePeople believed that the earth was flat, and the earth was the center of the universe (Geocentric system).

1. Nicholas Copernicus (father of modern astronomy)• On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres• He believed that the earth was round and rotated on its axis as it revolved around the sun. The sun stand still while the earth s moving.• Heliocentric Theory (sun-centered)

2. Johannes Kepler (German astronomer and mathematician)• The sun is the center of the universe.• The planets move around the sun not in circles, but ellipses (oval path).

3. Galileo Galilei (Italian mathematician)• Pioneer to use of the telescope to observe the night sky and discovered the moons of Jupiter, the ring of Saturn, spots on the sun.• He proved and confirmed Heliocentric theory.• He published his book and the Catholic Church banned it.

•Renaissance Artists embraced some of the ideals of Greece and Rome intheir art•They wanted their subjects to be realistic and focused on humanity andemotion•New Techniques also emerged•Sculpture emphasized realism and the human form•Architecture reached new heights of design