2. • ‘Renaissance’ means rebirth
• refers to the period of about 1300-1600 that was a
new period of learning and creativity in Europe.
• Other critics argue that this period only introduced
change for the upper classes while the lower classes
largely led the same miserable existence as they
always had.
3. When we talk about the Renaissance, it largely began in
Italy, especially northern Italy.
• Why there?
• Economics
• Trade was very important to the Italian city-states.
Demand for luxury goods increased trade.
Increased trade led to more tradesmen becoming
wealthy and wanting more luxury goods, and on and
on.
• Some merchants were richer than the local nobles.
• Due to the power and wealth of the merchants and
guilds, the feudal system broke down here.
4. It was primarily the northern Italian city-states that
dominated the Italian Renaissance. The central and
southern cities remained backwards.
• Note that each city-
state, as a city-state,
was independent of the
others. Also, they
controlled the
surrounding region.
• They would sometimes
go to war with each
other.
5. While there were several
powerful families in
Florence, the one that
emerged as the leader was
the Medici family.
• This is primarily due to the
skill of Cosimo de Medici.
• Cosimo was a brilliant
political tactician and also a
brilliant businessman.
• He amassed a huge fortune
and used it to buy political
power as well as financing
art projects in Florence.
7. A few years after Cosimo
dies, his grandson Lorenzo
takes power (Cosimo’s son
Piero takes power first,
but he was sickly and
didn’t live long).
• Lorenzo, of course, comes
to be known as Lorenzo
the Magnificent
8. • And why was Lorenzo magnificent?
• One big reason is the massive effect he had on
Florentine Renaissance.
• He sponsored a great deal of art and literature with
the Medici fortune.
• A few of the artists who enjoyed his patronage were
Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello.
• He also helped to start philosophical academies that
reexamined ancient works and philosophies.
10. Going back to the ancients
• One aspect of the Renaissance was reading ancient
works
• Many of the works were lost to western Europe.
• Another factor that helps focus people on the ancients
was observing all the ancient Roman aspects around
them.
11. This focus on the classics led to humanism.
• Humanism focused on what humans could do. It was
in opposition to the divinely based thought of the day.
• It also advocated reason and the evidence of senses
over traditional Christian introspective values.
• It concentrated on the traditional liberal arts: rhetoric,
grammar, philosophy, ethics, poetry, and history.
12. Focus on the good things in life
• Breaking with Christianity that focused on self-denial,
the humanists liked the finer things: entertainment,
art, good food, good company, etc.
• This was partially due to the effect of the Black
Death. Life was seeming too short not to enjoy it if
you could.
• This focus, along with the revival of classicism, also led
to a revival of homosexuality.
• Florence was well-known for widespread same-sex
relationships.
13. When it came to art, it had to be funded and that was
done by patrons – typically local wealthy merchant
families such as the Medici.
• They would sponsor art for themselves and for the city.
They liked having portraits of them done, among other
things.
To be a universal man
(or Renaissance man),
like Lorenzo here, you
strove to become expert
in the liberal arts as well
as learn to sing, dance,
and write poetry.
14. New art
• The Renaissance saw a flourishing of new artistic
techniques.
• Medieval art tended to be very flat and nearly always
had religious overtones.
15. • The art that started developing in the Renaissance,
however, was different.
• The biggest innovation was the use of perspective.
• When you look at a scene, parallel lines seem to get
closer to each other the farther in the distance they
go until they meet at a vanishing point. Think of
standing on a railroad track and looking down them.
16. • Renaissance artists started exploiting this optical
illusion in their art. The advantage of it is that you
created the illusion of a three dimensional image on
a flat, two dimensional surface.
17. • Interestingly,
perspective can
also be used as
to create false
perspective, such
as here.
18. • Or in M.C. Escher’s works (though he wasn’t
Renaissance).
19. You also start to see the use of light and shade
(chiaroscuro) and blurring outlines so it seems that
tones imperceptibly meld in to each other (thereby
creating volume: this is sfumato).
21. Close-up of Mona Lisa’s
face. Notice the sfumato
blurring, especially around
the eyes, and how it
creates a 3D illusion.
22. • You also see a renewed interest in some classical forms
in sculpture that are at the same time using realism.
• Examples are Donatello’s bronze David and
Michelangelo’s marble David.
23.
24. • There’s also more action and animation to the
characters in the paintings. They feel like they’re in
mid-movement and not just in some stone-like pose.
25.
26.
27. • The dome of the basilica reaches 448 ft. The Statue
of Liberty, from the ground to the tip of the torch, is
305 ft.
28.
29. • There’s also the Sistine Chapel. Not much to look at
from the outside:
