THE
RENAISSANCE

The Italian Renaissance
• Renaissance  rebirth
• Italian Renaissance  rebirth of ancient Greek & Roman
worlds
• Characteristics
• Secular Urban society (City-states)
• Age of Recovery
• New view of human ability & worth

Origins of the Renaissance
• European trade with Asia increased during the 1300s.
• 2. Italian merchants organized much of this trade.
• 3. Trade cities in Italy grew wealthy.
• 4. They competed to create works that would increase the
prestige of their cities.
Venice
Genoa
Milan

Origins of the Renaissance (cont)
• 5. Florence became a center for banking, art, culture, and
literature.
• 6. Cosimo de’ Medici wanted to make
Florence the most beautiful city.
• 7. The Renaissance began in Italy and
spread throughout Europe.

Important City-States of the Renaissance
• Florence
• Rome
• Venice
• Genoa
• Milan
Genoa Towers,
Palazzo
Contarini
del Bovolo,
Venice
Façade and
bell tower,
Santa Maria
del Fiore,
Florence
Comune
gi Milano,
Milan

City State Populations

Florence
• Center of art, literature,
and culture.
• Florence became
wealthy from the
manufacturing of wool.
• Later Florence became
the banking center of
Italy.
• The Medici family were
the greatest bankers in
Florence.

Florence
• The Renaissance
started in Florence
and spread throughout
Europe.
• Competition between
the Italian city-states
led to advances in
literature, architecture,
art, music, science,
and education.

Medici Family
• Ruled Florence, 13th  17th Centuries
• Aimed to make Florence the most beautiful city in the world –
Became Patrons of the Arts. Commissioned artist (incl. da
Vinci, Raphael & Michelangelo)
• Lorenzo (The Magnificent) –
created peace among Italian
states, ended w/his death,
2 years later FR invades

Rome
• Home of the Catholic
Church
• Popes commissioned
famous artists and
architects to beautify
Rome. Michelangelo,
Raphael, and Botticelli
all produced major works
in Rome.

Rome
• The popes employed the best artists and architects of
the Renaissance to build and decorate the most
opulent churches in in the world.
• Michelangelo designed the finest example of
Renaissance architecture in Rome, the Piazza del
Campidoglio (bottom left). He also designed the dome
of St. Peter’s Basilica (bottom right).

Venice
• Venice was the wealthiest city-
state of the Renaissance.
• It was a port city on the
Mediterranean.
• Venice maintained hundreds of
merchant ships and warships,
and thousands of sailors.

Genoa
• Genoa is located on the
Mediterranean.
• Genoa was one of two
main port cities in Italy
during the Renaissance.
• Genoa was one of the
wealthiest city-states of
the Renaissance.
• Dominated trade in the
Mediterranean
Genoa
Harbor

Milan
• Milan dominated the inland trade
routes because it was the
gateway to Italy from the north.
• Milan is the site of Santa Maria
delle Grazie, the cathedral where
Leonardo da Vinci painted The
Last Supper in the dining hall.

Renaissance Society
• Strict Class society
• Nobility – most powerful, but smallest group
• Strict rules and expectations
• Born not made or earned
• Townspeople
• Wide range of wealth, from rich to poor
• Provide goods & services
• Peasants – weakest, but largest group
• More freedoms as serfdom decreased
• Mainly lived in rural areas, so were least impacted by Renaissance

The Intellectual and Artistic Renaissance

Italian Renaissance Humanism
• Stressed that man was the center of the universe
and had dignity and value
• Humanism – intellectual movement based on the
classics
• Study – grammar, rhetoric (debate), poetry, philosophy & history (the
Humanities)
• Ren Educations – based on humanism
• Goal – create complete citizens
• Vernacular Literature – written in common lang
• Dante, Chaucer, Pizan

Petrarch: “Father of Humanism”
• Petrarch was a scholar and poet
who was responsible for the
recovery of manuscripts and works
of Greek and Roman writers.
• He traveled throughout Europe
recovering manuscripts of Cicero
and other Roman authors that had
been lost in monastery libraries.
• Petrarch, like other writers of the
time, wrote in Latin.
Francesco
Petrarch

Dante Alighieri
• “Father of the Italian Language”
• Wrote The Divine Comedy.
• The Divine Comedy is
considered one of the greatest
works of Italian and world
literature.
• Dante was first to write in the
vernacular, the language used
in everyday life. Until his time,
all European literature was
written in Latin. Dante
Alighieri

The Artistic Renaissance in
Italy
• Rome became the center of Renaissance art in the
1500s.
• Pope Alexander VI: most notorious of the Renaissances popes; spent
huge sums on art patronage.
• Master of early renaissance
1. Masaccio, Brunelleschi and Donatello
• 3 Masters of the High Renaissance
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Michelangelo
• Raphael
• Sculpture & Architecture are include in Renaissance
Art, both drew from Greek & Roman influenences

New Artistic Techniques
• Fresco – watercolor on
fresh plaster
• Law of Perspective
• Study of human anatomy
• GOAL – imitate nature
From Michelangelo’s Sketch Book

The Renaissance “Man”
 Broad knowledge about many things in
different fields.
 Deep knowledge/skill in one area.
 Able to link information from
different areas/disciplines and create
new knowledge.
 The Greek ideal of the “well-rounded
man” was at the heart of Renaissance
education.
 Master of realism & perspective
 Studied human anatomy (cadavers)
to be as accurate as possible
 Sculptor, painter, astronomer,
inventor – a true “Renaissance Man”
1452 - 1519

Leonardo da Vinci,
The Virgin of
the Rocks
Leonardo da
Vinci
1483-1486

Leonardo, the Artist:
Fromhis Notebookofover5000 pages (1508-1519)

Leonardo Da Vinci
Mona Lisa (La Giocande)
Oil on wood panel
Fun Fact! Notice her lack
of eyebrows! Women
during this period would
shave them off! It was
considered fashionable to
do so!

MonaLisaOR da Vinci??

Leonardo da Vinci
The Last Supper
A page from one of da Vinci’s
notebooks, he “coded” his work
by writing backwards. He could
read it, but most other people
would need a mirror to read it.

Leonardo da Vinci, “Last Supper”
Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy

“Last Supper” Perspective

horizontal
vertical
Perspective!
TheLastSupper-da Vinci,1498

TheLastSupper-da Vinci,1498
& Geometry

Refractory
Convent ofSanta
Maria delle
Grazie
Milan

Detail of
Jesus
The Last
Supper
Leonardo da
Vinci
1498
Deterioration

Leonardo Da Vinci
The Last Supper
Tempera and mixed media on Plaster

Leonardo, the Sculptor
 An
Equestrian
Statue
 1516-1518

Leonardo, the Architect:
Pages from his Notebook
Study of a
central church.
1488

Leonardo, the Architect:
Pages from his Notebook
Plan of the city of Imola, 1502.

Leonardo,the Scientist (Biology):
Pages from his Notebook
An example of
the humanist
desire to unlock
the secrets of
nature.

Leonardo,the Scientist (Anatomy): Pages from his
Notebook

Leonardo, the Inventor:
Pages from his Notebook

A study of siege defenses.
Studies of water-lifting
devices.
Leonardo,the Engineer: Pages from
his Notebook

Michelangelo Buonarroti
• Painter, sculptor and architect
• Most famous for work in Vatican City
Vatican City
St. Peter’s Bascillica
(large domed building) –
designed by Michelangelo
(St. Peter’s Square –
designed by Bernini)

Michelangelo
Well known for his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.
The ceiling illustrates the stories of the Book of
Genesis
The Creation of Adam
The Last Judgement
On the Alter Wall of the
Sistine Chapel.

 David by Donatello
 1430
 First free-form bronze
since Roman times!
TheLiberation of
Sculpture

David
Verrocchio
1473 - 1475

David
Michelangelo
Buonarotti
1504
Marble

Michelangelo’s Detail

 15c
16c 
What
a
difference
a
century
makes!

Michelangelo, the sculptor
The Pieta –
marble statue
of a crucified
Jesus being
held by his
mother Mary.
In St. Peter’s
Basilica.

TheSistineChapel
Michelangelo
Buonarroti
1508 - 1512
Film Clip

TheSistineChapel’sCeiling
MichelangeloBuonarroti
1508 - 1512

TheSistineChapelDetails
The
Creation
of the
Heavens

TheSistineChapelDetails
Creation of Man

TheSistineChapelDetails
The Fall from
Grace

Creation

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel

TheSistineChapelDetails
The Last Judgment

Raphael Santi
• 1 of the top Renaissance painters
• Especially known for his “Madonna's” – paintings of Mary
the mother of Jesus
• A major artist in the Vatican
Madonna
of the
Meadows
Madonna del
Granduca

Raphael Santi
School of
Athens -
fresco in
the
Apostolic
Palace in
the Vatican.
Thought to
be
Raphael’s
masterpiece
.

Raphael’s “School of Athens”

TheSchoolofAthens– Raphael, 1510 -11
One point perspective.
All of the important Greek philosophers
and thinkers are included  all of the
great personalities of the Seven Liberal
Arts!
A great variety of poses.
Located in the papal apartments library.
Raphael worked on this commission
simultaneously as Michelangelo was doing
the Sistine Chapel.
No Christian themes here.

TheSchoolofAthens– Raphael, 1510 -11
Raphael
Da Vinci
Michelangelo

Aristotle:
looks to this
earth [the
here and
now].
Plato:
looks to the
heavens [or
the IDEAL
realm].
TheSchoolofAthens– Raphael, details
Film Clip

Averroes
Hypatia
Pythagoras

Zoroaster
Ptolemy
Euclid

Raphael Santi
The bracketed names are the contemporary characters from whom Raphael is thought
to have drawn his likenesses. 6: Pythagoras? 7: Alexander the Great? 12: Socrates?
13: Heraclitus (Michelangelo) 14: Plato holding the Timaeus (Leonardo da Vinci)
15: Aristotle holding the Ethics? 16: Diogenes of Sinope? 17: 18: Euclid or Archimedes
with students 20: Ptolemy? R: Apelles (Raphael)

Northern Italian Renaissance
• Centered in Low Countries – Belg, Lux, Neth
• Due to weather- few frescoes
• Stained glass, wooden panels, canvas
• Jan van Eyck – Flemish, perfected use of oil paints
• Oils allow greater variety of color
& detail
Portrait of a Man in a
Turban , probably a
self-portrait, painted
1433

The Renaissance
moves North!
About 100 years after the
Renaissance began it Italy,
It moved north to Flanders
(Northern Belgium).
 Took longer to recover from
the economic devastation
brought on by the black plague.
 100 years war in
France/England Remember me?

Characteristics of Northern Renaissance
Art
 Contained great detail
 More landscape and nature paintings -
usually darker and colder
 Oil painting on Canvas – allowed for vivid
color
 Paintings are less secular. More religious
questioning.
 More scenes of daily life.

Medieval vs. Renaissance Architecture
Gothic (Medieval)
•Gothic architecture was very large,
“pointy”
•Flying buttresses supported large
walls
•Stained glass told stories
Renaissance
•Revival of Arch and Dome
•Qualities of Greek and Roman
architecture
•Used columns for support
Intricate design

Renaissance Architecture vs.
Medieval Architecture
El Tempieto
Donato Bramante
Notre Dame Cathedral

Il Duomo
Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi
1377 - 1436
Architect of the Duomo
Cuppolo of St. Maria
del Fiore

Filippo Brunelleschi
• Commissioned to build
the cathedral dome.
• Used unique
architectural
concepts.
 He studied the
ancient
Pantheon in
Rome.
 Used ribs for
support.

Brunelleschi’s Dome

Comparing Domes

Other Famous Domes
Il Duomo St. Peter’s St. Paul’s US capital
(Florence) (Rome) (London) (Washington)

 Influcenced by archectiture of the classical period (Greece,
Rome)
 Use of Domes, arches, and columns.
Characteristics of Renaissance
Architecture

Albrecht Durer
• German
• 1 of greatest Northern
Renaissance artists
• Revolutionized woodcuts
• Studied in Italy on several
different occasions

The Printing Press
• Johannes Gutenberg was a
German goldsmith and printer.
• Gutenberg was the first to
develop movable type. This
allowed for mass production of
books.
• Gutenberg’s invention
revolutionized book-making in
Europe.
• Gutenberg was the key figure in
spreading the Renaissance.
• His invention of movable type is
still considered the most
important invention in history.

IMPACT
• Much easier to publish
books
• Increased literacy
• 1450-1500, 20 million
books printed covering
35,000 topics
• Vernacular Literature
– written in common
language
• Dante, Chaucer,
Shakespeare

Writers of the Renaissance
• With the printing press. books become more affordable and
more people (mostly wealthy) learn to read
• Dante, Petrarch and Machiavelli were all important writers of
the time
• But there were more…

Miguel de Cervantes
• Cervantes was a Spanish novelist, poet,
painter, and playwright. He was
born in La Mancha, Spain.
• Cervantes wrote the novel Don Quixote, the most
influential work of literature to come out of the
Spanish Golden Age.
• Cervantes was a man of adventure. It was said
that he left Castile because of a duel.
• Cervantes got the idea for Don Quixote while
serving one of two prison terms for irregularities in
his bookkeeping as a tax collector and purchasing
agent.

New Words Abound…
Alligator Laughingstock Worthless
Critical Lonely Zany
Equivocal Luggage
Eyeball Manager
Eyesore Puke
Gloomy Torture
But where did they come from?

William Shakespeare
• Shakespeare is considered the
greatest writer and dramatist of all
time.
• Shakespeare wrote Romeo and
Juliet, Merchant of Venice, Julius
Caesar, A Midsummer’s Night
Dream, Henry IV, Henry V, Much
Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night,
Hamlet and more.
• Shakespeare wrote 38 plays, 154
sonnets, two narrative poems, and
other poems.
“All the world’s a stage,
and all the men and
women merely players
there, they have their exits
and their entrances, and
one man in his time plays
many parts….”
William Shakespeare

Shakespeare
• William Shakespeare (1564-1616)– Elizabethan era
• Greatest of English Renaissance authors
• His work reflected the Renaissance ideas of classical Greek and Roman
culture, individualism and humanism
• Wrote comedies, tragedies, histories and sonnets
• Known for the “timelessness” of his work
• Close to 300 movies and TV adaptations have been made of
Shakespeare’s work (e.g. Ten Things I Hate About You, a rendition of The
Taming of the Shrew)

Contributions of the Renaissance
• Invention of the Gutenberg Press
• The banking industry
• Exploration, colonization of world
• Expansion of trade
• Humanism, individual is the center of the universe
• Reintroduction of Greek and Roman knowledge
and philosophy
• Gateway to modern art forms
• Expansion of Greek and Roman architecture and
sculpture
• Increased scientific knowledge, and desire to know
more

The Italian Wars (1494-1559)
• Powerful IT monarchs & foreign countries (SP, FR,
HRE, Ott Emp…) vied for control
• Charles I (SP) allowed sack of Rome (May 5, 1527)
• Pope Clement forced to flee
• Aftermath:
• End of Roman Renaissance
• Damaged Papal prestige
• SP dominant power in IT
• Charles V given freedom to act
on Reformation in Germany
FYI – In commemoration, all new Swiss Guard members are sworn in on
May 6 of each year.

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION
• Religious reforms dividing western Christianity
• Roman Catholic Church criticized for abuse of power and
corruption
• Christian Humanists–wanted to reform Church
• Believed through reason, and studying the classics one could become
more pious(Christ-like)
• Desiderius Erasmus–father of Christian Humanism
• Suggested reforming from within the Church

Desiderius Erasmus
• Erasmus was a Dutch scholar,
humanist, and theologian.
• Erasmus was ordained a Catholic
priest, but never practiced priestly
duties.
• Instead, he studied theology and
classical Greek at the universities
of Paris and Cambridge.
• Erasmus was critical of some of
the practices and doctrines of the
Catholic Church.
• Erasmus sought to reform the
Catholic Church.
Desiderius
Erasmus

Calls to Reform the Church
• In Praise of Folly - by Erasmus
• Best-seller (only the Bible sold more by 1550)
• Erasmus was a devout Catholic who sought to reform the Church,
not destroy it
• Criticized immorality and hypocrisy of Church leaders and the
clergy
• The book inspired renewed calls for reform, and influenced Martin
Luther

Why reform?
• Popes corrupted by power & lose focus of spiritual
leadership
• Scientific advances contradicted the Church
• People wanted to know how to save souls
• Indulgences –a release of a
soul from purgatory for
monetary donation –
a HUGE abuse of
Church power!

What was the Protestant
Reformation?
• Prior to the Reformation all Christians were Roman
Catholic
• The [REFORM]ation was an attempt to REFORM the
Catholic Church
• People like Martin Luther wanted to get rid of the
corruption and restore the people’s faith in the church
• In the end the reformers, like Luther, established their
own religions
• The Reformation caused a split in Christianity with the
formation of these new Protestant religions

Scan graphic?

MARTIN LUTHER
• German Priest
• Saw problems in the Church
• Church believed salvation gained
from faith + good work
• Luther thought faith alone gained salvation
• Oct 31, 1517 – Posted 95 Theses on church door
in Wittenburg, Ger
• His criticisms of Church
• 1000s of copies distributed through
Germany

The Reformation Begins
• By 1521 Luther moving toward spilt from Church
• Wanted Ger princes to overthrow Papal power in
Germany & est a German Church
• By Jan 1521 – Luther excommunicated
• Summoned by Imperial Diet of HRE to Worms
• Called by Emperor Charles V,
wanted Luther to change his
ideas, Luther – “NO”
• Edict of Worms issued, making
Luther an outlaw
• Luther kept in hiding by
his prince

Lutheranism
• Followers of Luther’s religious practices
• Gained support of many German princes
• 1524, German peasants revolted & hoped Luther would
support them, because Luther needed the princes’ support,
he did not help the peasants
• Germany in turmoil – Catholic? Lutheran?
• To achieve peace HRE Emperor Charles V accepted the Peace of
Augsburg (allowed Ger princes to choose the faith of their region)

Protestantism Spreads - Zwingli
• Ulrich Zwingli – priest in Zurich, Switzerland
• Zwinglian Reformation
• Banned all religious relics & images
• Whitewashed all church interiors
• No music in church services
• Does note merge w/Luther b/c
can’t agree with the meaning
of communion

Protestantism Spreads - Calvin
• John Calvin replaces Zwingli (killed in rel war)
• French, fled for safety to Switzerland
• 1536 – began reforming Geneva, Switz.
• Created a church govt of elect & laity
• Used consistory (moral police)
• Sent missionaries thru Eur to convert Cath.
• Ideas spread  FR, Neth, Scot…
• Mid 16th C – Calvinism more pop than Lutheranism

Reformation in England
• Political, not religious motives for reform
• Henry VIII – King of England
• Needs a male heir to carry on
the Tudor Dynasty
• Married Catherine of Aragon
(Aunt of Charles V,HRE Emperor)
• Have a daughter, Mary
• No son, so Henry wants a divorce!
In the Catholic Church, you
need an annulment, granted by the
Church. The Pope grants it for a King.

Reformation in England (cont)
• The Pope refused to grant the annulment, too political
(King of Eng vs. HRE Emperor)
• After a long argument, Henry decided to break from
Catholic Church
• Archbishop of Canterbury granted divorce
• Act of Supremacy(1534) est Church of Eng
• King control over doctrine, appointments, etc
• Dissolves Cath claims, sells land & possessions
• Remained close to Cath teachings

Henry & his wives
• Henry was desperate
for a son. So much
so he married 6
times!!
• The saying goes…
Divorced, Beheaded,
Died
Divorced, Beheaded,
Survived
Horrible Histories

The Church of England
• 1547 – Henry died
• His 9 year old son, Edward VI, took the throne
• The Church of England- aka Anglican Church
• Became more Protestant
• Angering Catholics
• 1553 – Edward dies
• His half-sister Mary (Catholic) takes throne
• She wants to restore Catholicism
• “Bloody Mary” has 300+ Prot burned as heretics
• Increases tensions btw Cath & Prot

The Catholic Reformation
• Protestantism spreading rapidly through Eur
• Church sees need to reform
• Raises the standards of the clergy
• Inspired the Church with a renewed zeal and morale
• Contributed significantly to producing the Catholic Church as we know
it today.
• Pillars of Catholic Reformation
• 1. Reform of Papacy
• 2. Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
• 3. Council of Trent

The Papacy
• Corruption had to be addressed
• Pope Paul II led papal reform
• Oversaw the creation of the Jesuit
order
• Opened the Council of Trent
• Revived the Inquisition

The Jesuits
• Most significant agency of Catholic
reform
• Founded by Ignatius of Loyola
• Spanish soldier
• Injured in battle
• Had a conversion during recovery,
dedicated himself to the Church

Role of Jesuits
• Missionaries
• Convert former and non-Catholics
• Urged the religious education of
children
• Devoted to religious and secular
education
• Secondary schools
• Colleges/Universities
• Seminaries

Council of Trent
• Met over 18 year period (1545-63)
• Reaffirmed Catholic teaching
• Including 7 sacraments
• Maintained salvation was gained through faith and good works
• More strict rules for clergy
• Incl more education for priests
• Each diocese established a seminary
• Banned indulgences!!

The Inquisition
• Church’s way to suppress
heresy
• Infamous for its cruelty
• Followed strictly in Spain,
Portugal and Rome
• Some countries, like France,
refused