Italian Renaissance - WordPress.com · THE RISE OF THE INDIVIDUAL •In both Renaissance philosophy and art, the individual and dignity of humans is celebrated •Visible in Renaissance

ITALIAN RENAISSANCEThe building of modern Europe.

WHY ITALY?

No, really: why does the Renaissance begin in Italy?

Why not France? Or Russia?

DEFINING TERMS

• Renaissance→ literally, “rebirth”

• Referring to a return to an emphasis on Classical Greek and Roman ideas

and artistic forms following the Middle Ages

• Renaissance primarily influences the elite in terms of:

• Art

• Literacy

• Politics

• Architecture

• Poor people less effected

WHY ITALY?

• Increase in commerce and trade, growth of towns and cities

at the end of the Middle Ages

• Feudalism not as strong in Italy

• The ruins of Rome were RIGHT THERE, reminding people of

the past on a daily basis

WHY ITALY?

• Italian city-states became rich due to trade:

• FLORENCE

• Venice

• Genoa

• Milan

• Trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe

• Independent city-states primarily governed as REPUBLICS by

wealthy merchants

• NO KING! → wealth was more important than nobility

WHY ITALY?

• Profit-making > Church doctrine, particularly with regards to

banking

• Medieval Catholic Church prohibited lending money at interest → usury (a

sin)

• Merchants and bankers who became wealthy looked to lessen their sin

through donations to the Church

• Often took the form of gifts in art, or new buildings

• Best example: the Medici in Florence

• Wealth is demonstrated through the funding of ART and

ARCHITECTURE

INTELLECT AND ART

New ideas.

INTELLECT AND ART: SECULARISM

• Secularism → emphasis on WORLDLY, non-religious matters

• Develops as influence of merchants and non-Church officials gain

power

• Evident in the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli

• First major theorist on political science

• Wrote The Prince for Lorenzo de Medici → guide book on how to

get and hold power

• Example of realpolitik→ do what is NECESSARY, not necessarily

what is RIGHT

NEW WAYS OF THINKING

Humanism and Individualism on the Rise

HUMANIST THOUGHT

• Humanism → emphasis on studying the

humanities, academic disciplines that

focus on human culture

• Ancient and modern languages

• Literature

• Philosophy

• Religion

• Music

• Art

• Emphasized the importance of the

individual

• Encouraged the study of classical

writings

THE RISE OF THE INDIVIDUAL

• In both Renaissance philosophy and art, the individual and dignity of

humans is celebrated

• Visible in Renaissance art through the idealized human form (ex. Michelangelo’s

David or da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man)

• Individuals begin taking credit for their work → we know the name of

artists and writers and architects in a way that we don’t during the

Middle Ages

• Invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg (1439) allows

for individuals to:

• Spread ideas swiftly and widely

• Be exposed to new ideas and incorporate new ideas