The Renaissance
“Rebirth”
1300’s - 1500’s
A time of Creativity and change in Europe.
• It was a golden age in the arts, literature, and sciences.
• Curious about life in the present more than the after life.
• Starts in Italy
Why Italy?
• Near Ancient Rome.
• Florence and Venice were big trade centers.
• Merchants spent a lot of $$ on art and education.
Florence and the Medicis
• Cosimo de Medici, a wealthy banker, takes control of the government.
• Cosimo creates a republican Govn’t.
• Appointes relatives to high positions.
Humanism
• Focused on worldly subjects rather than religious issues.
• Humanists hoped to use wisdom of the ancients to understand their own times.
• Today we refer to the study of literature, philosophy and art as the humanities.
Italian Art and Architecture
Leonardo DaVinci
• 1452-1519
• model “Renaissance Man”
• (Painter, sculptor, inventor, architect, engineer)
• Mona Lisa, Last Supper
Michelangelo• 1475-1564
• Biblical and classical figures.
• Sculptor, engineer, poet, painter, architect
• Statue of David
• Dome of St. Peter’s church in Rome
• Sistine Chapel ceiling
Raphael
• 1483-1520
• Painter
• Student of Michelangelo and daVinci.
• Paintings of the Madonna, and School of Athens.
Sofonisba Anguissola
• 1500’s
• Painter
• Judith and the Maidservant
Architecture
• Reject the Gothic style of the late Middle Ages as cluttered and disorderly.
• Adopt the columns, arches, and domes.
Political Science
Nicolo Machiavelli
• 1469-1527
• The Prince
• Use whatever methods were neccessary to achieve their goals
• “The end justifies the means.”
Technical Innovation
Johann Gutenberg
• 1456 Gutenberg invents the Printing Press in Europe.
• Already being done in China from 8th century.
Impact of Printing Press
• More people learned to read and write.
• Cheaper than hand-copied.
• Access to broad range of knowledge.
• Contributed to the religious turmoil in the 1500’s.
