M ichelangelo is the most celebrated Italian sculptor,
painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High
Renaissance. He is considered to be the best sculptor
of all !me! A number of Michelangelo's works in
pain!ng, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most
famous in ever created! His output produc!on was also amazing,
making him the best-documented ar!st of the 16th
century.
Two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David,
were sculpted before the age of thirty! Despite his low
opinion of pain!ng, Michelangelo also created two of
the most influen!al frescoes in the history of Western
art. His most popular frescoes are the scenes from
Genesis. on the ceiling of the Sis!ne Chapel in Rome.
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Renaissance Superheroes: Michelangelo
M any historians refer to Leonardo as the prime example of a" "Renaissance Man",
because of his unsurpassed curiosity. He was a polymath, or man of many
talents, as an inventor, sculptor, mathema!cian, painter and scien!st. S!ll,
Leonardo is renowned primarily as a painter. Among the artworks he painted,
the Mona Lisa is undeniably the most famous of his portraits. He also painted The Last
Supper the most reproduced religious pain!ng of all !me.
His quest to become a skilled painter
led him to dissec!ng bodies and
recording his findings in notebooks. In
fact, he even wrote his notes
backwards so his secrets would be
concealed. Furthermore, he sketched
ideas for rudimentary helicopters,
bridges, underwater diving suits and
even flying machines!
Supper the most reproduced
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Sculptor, Inventor, Scientist!
Renaissance Superheroes: Leonardo Da Vinci
D ante was a major Italian poet of the late Middle Ages/early Renaissance.
His Divine Comedy is widely considered the greatest literary work composed
in the Italian language and a true masterpiece of world literature. The Divine
Comedy was really a long poem that described a Chris!an journey through
the a&erlife. The main character Virgil
journeys through hell and purgatory (a
place between hell and heaven where
Chris!ans believed people worked to
pay off their sins). Later, the book
describes heaven as paradise. His work
was one of the first to ever be wri+en
in the local dialect and his wri!ng style
became a model for future writers!
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Writer!
Renaissance Superheroes: Dante Alghieri
A round 1450 a revolu!onary prin!ng machine was
created by the German, Johannes Gutenberg. His
prin!ng press used moveable type to mass produce
documents and books, which replaced having to write
by hand. Before the prin!ng press it would take four to five
months to write a book by hand. This new type of prin!ng could
produce more than three hundred pages per day! This meant
that new ideas could be spread throughout Europe quickly, which
further inspired progress during the Renaissance. Furthermore,
as the Bible became accessible to all people, Chris!ans began to
ques!on the authority of the Church. This eventually led to the
reforma!on of the Catholic Church. Some historians refer to the
prin!ng press as most impac-ul inven!on ever made!
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Renaissance Superheroes: Johannes Guttenberg
T i!an was one of the most versa!le of Italian
painters, equally able to paint portraits,
landscape backgrounds and religious subjects.
His pain!ng methods, par!cularly in the way
he applied the paint and his
use of color, would influence
not only painters of the Italian
Renaissance, but future
genera!ons of Western art!
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Powerful Painter!
Renaissance Superheroes: Titian
D urer was an influen!al and brilliant painter, printmaker and theorist of
the German Renaissance. He established his reputa!on and influence across
Europe when he was s!ll in his twen!es! His high-quality woodcut prints were
among his most popular works of art. He
collaborated with the major Italian
ar!sts of his !me,
including Raphael, Giovanni
Bellini and Leonardo da Vinci. His vast
body of work includes engravings,
altarpieces, portraits and self-
portraits, watercolors and books. He
used principles of
mathema!cs, perspec!ve and ideal
propor!ons, which made him a true
Renaissance thinker and ar!st!
collab
ar!sts
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st Super Artist!
Renaissance Superheroes: Albrecht Durer
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A ndreas Vesalius was an anatomist, physician,
and author of one of the most influen!al
textbooks on human anatomy, De Humani
Corporis Fabrica. He is widely acknowledged
as the founder of the study of human anatomy. He was
both a professor at the University of Padua and an
Imperial physician in the court of Emperor
Charles V. His research and curiosity about
the human body made him a true
renaissance superstar!
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Super Scientist!
Renaissance Superheroes: Andreas Vesalius
I sabella I was married to Ferdinand II of Aragon. Together, this dynamic duo would unify
Spain. Her reforms and those she made with her husband had an influence that
extended well beyond the borders of their kingdom! Isabella and Ferdinand are known
for being ruthless, but effec!ve. They completed the Reconquista (reconquering Spain
for the Chris!ans). They also ordered people to convert to Chris!anity or be subject to exile.
This par!cularly affected the Muslim and Jewish residents of
Spain during the Spanish Inquisi!on.
Most impressively, she is known for
suppor!ng and financing Christopher
Columbus's 1492 voyage that led to the
opening of the New World and to the
establishment of Spain as the first global
power who dominated Europe! It’s no
wonder that Isabella was !tled a Servant
of God by the Catholic Church in 1974!
This par!cularly affected the M
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Hero!
Renaissance Superheroes: Isabella I, Queen of Spain
and an
F irstly, England's defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588
associated Elizabeth with one of the greatest military
victories in English history. However, her period of
leadership is more noted for a period of growth in the
trade, educa!on and the arts. For this reason, Elizabeth's reign is
known as the Elizabethan era. The period is famous for the
flourishing of English drama, led by playwrights such as William
Shakespeare, which were created in the iconic Globe theatre.
Also, she is known for hiring pirates like Sir Francis Drake to steal
gold from weighted down Spanish Galleons returning from the
New World. It’s no wonder that Elizabeth I is acknowledged as a
charisma!c, fearless leader of the Renaissance in England!
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Fearless Leader!
Renaissance Superheroes: Elizabeth I, Queen of England
W illiam Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor. He is widely
regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and some!mes ever! His
plays have been translated into every major language and are performed more
o&en than those of any other playwright! His early
plays were primarily comedies and histories, and these are
regarded as some of the best work ever
produced in these genres. Later, he
wrote mainly tragedies, including
famous works such
as: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear,
and Macbeth. These plays are
considered some of the finest works in
the English language. In his last phase,
he wrote tragicomedies, also known as
romances, and collaborated with other
playwrights. The most recognizable play of this era is Romeo and
Juliet!
plays were primarily comedies
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Renaissance Superheroes: William Shakespeare
M achiavelli was an Italian Renaissance historian,
poli!cian, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and
writer. As senior official of the Floren!ne Republic,
he was responsible for diploma!c and military
affairs. He was secretary Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512
at the same !me when the Medici family were out of power. He
wrote his most popular work The Prince in 1513. In the Prince he
proclaimed that, “leaders should be feared and not loved.” He
also stated that, “a leader should be a master of war above all
else.” His harsh leadership style has awarded him the las!ng
modern reference of being “Machiavellian” or exceedingly harsh
use of authority.
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Righteous Leader!
Renaissance Superheroes: Niccolo Machiavelli
M arco Polo was an Italian merchant whose travels are
recorded in Livres des merveilles du monde (Book of
the Marvels of the World, also known as The Travels
of Marco Polo, c. 1300), a book that introduced
Europeans to Central Asia and China. He traveled to
China with his father and brother where he served
in Mongol leader Kublai Khan’s court. When he
returned, he explained to Europe the marvels that
he saw in China, including luxury items like silk and
porcelain. He inspired a new genera!on of traders
to travel to Europe to seek profit from new Chinese
products that were in high demand all over Europe.
Historians o&en credit Marco Polo for ini!a!ng the
economic backbone that would fuel the
Renaissance!
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Awesome Explorer
Renaissance Superheroes: Marco Polo
C ervantes is widely regarded as the greatest
writer in the Spanish language. In fact, his
influence on the Spanish language is greater
than any other writer! For this reason Spanish is
some!mes called the “the language of Cervantes.” He is
most noted for wri!ng a sa!rical story about the Middle
Ages called Don Quixote. The story is about the
adventures of man named Mr. Alonso Quixano who reads
so many chivalric romances that he loses his sanity and
decides to set out to revivechivalry, undo wrongs, and
bring jus!ce to the world, under the name Don Quixote de
la Mancha.
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Renaissance Superheroes: Miguel Cervantes
T he Medici Family was a wealthy merchant family from Florence, Italy.
Over!me, the family evolved into bankers, which financed new
Renaissance businesses. They grew extraordinarily wealthy from the
interest paid on the loans they made. S!ll, their most important
accomplishment is that they were patrons of the arts. They paid ar!sts handsome
commissions to beau!fy Florence
with statues, pain!ngs and
architectural wonders. Since there
was money to be made as an
ar!st, they provided great
incen!ve for ar!sts to study and
create art in Italy. For this reason,
the splendor of the Renaissance
era is forever !ed to the great
Medici Family!
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Renaissance Superheroes: The Medici Family
N icolas Copernicus proposed the theory that Earth and other planets
revolved around sun. He is responsible for defining modern astronomy
and for encouraging other scien!sts of the Renaissance to ques!on
accepted faith-based beliefs of the Catholic
Church. He completed his book De revolu!onibus
orbium coeles!um (On the
Revolu!ons of the Celes!al Spheres)
just before his death in 1543. The
comple!on of his book is considered
a major event in the history of
science, triggering what is referred
to as the Copernican Revolu!on,
also called the Scien!fic Revolu!on!
Church. He completed h
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Awesome Astronomer!
Renaissance Superheroes: Nicolas Copernicus
C alled the father of humanism because he believed that people
should focus on human values, capabili!es and self worth instead
of faith. He was a well known poet that loved old books, collec!ng
a large library of Ancient Greek and Roman texts.
He encouraged studies of classical culture, which provided
humanists with a new way of looking
at life. Humanist study subjects of the
humani!es or grammar, persuasive
language, speech, history, poetry and
moral behavior. Petrarch taught that
humanists should use their minds to
ques!on everything. This brought he
and his humanist followers into
conflict with the Catholic Church o&en
since the Church believed that life
a&er death was more important than
new discovery.
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Renaissance Superheroes: Petrarch