The Renaissance began in Italy due to its central location between Western Europe and the Muslim world, which led to increased trade and the growth of powerful city-states like Florence, Milan and Venice. These city-states used their wealth to promote the arts and ideas of the Renaissance, with Florence seen as its birthplace. Two key features of the Renaissance were a focus on classical works from ancient Greece and Rome, and the philosophical idea of humanism which emphasized the importance of individual people. Renaissance art developed the technique of realism to make images look more realistic through techniques like shading, perspective, and accurate human anatomy.

1. The Renaissance
Origin
• Italy was the perfect location on
the Mediterranean Sea between
Western Europe and Muslim
world.
• The Crusades led to increased
trade between Western Europe
and the Muslim world through
trading centers in Italy.
• These major trading centers grew
in wealth and
independence, eventually
becoming powerful city-states.
Why was Italy’s location
important?
What allowed some powerful
city-states to develop in Italy
after the Crusades?

2. The Renaissance
Origin
• Florence, Milan, Venice were
some of these powerful city-states
that used this wealth and
independence to promote the arts
and ideas that characterize the
Renaissance.
• Florence is the birthplace of the
Renaissance.
• The Medici family in Florence
were important patrons of the
Renaissance.
What helped promote the
Renaissance?
Where did the Renaissance
begin?

3. The Renaissance
Principles
• Two features of the Renaissance
were the classics and humanism.
• The classics were anything related
with the Greeks and Romans.
• Humanism believed that the
individual had importance and
beauty.
What are two features of the
Renaissance?
What does “classics” mean?
What is Humanism?

4. The Renaissance
Realism
• Humanism in art would focus on
the human person, but would
need to develop another idea
called realism.
• Realism in art wanted to develop
images that looked “real.”
• This was accomplished in a few
different ways:
– Shading
– Perspective
– Anatomical Correctness
How is realism related to
humanism?
How was realism realized in art?

5. The Renaissance
Realism
• Shading would create the effect of
light and shadow in an image.
• Perspective gave art depth, or a
three-dimensional effect that
added to a sense of the “real.”
• Anatomical correctness was
concerned with the human
body, its proportion, and realistic
poses.
• Many artists studied the human
body, which also increased
understanding of medicine and
lead to improvements in health.
What is perspective?
What was anatomical
correctness concerned with?
How does an artist’s concern for
anatomical correctness lead to
improvements in health?

6. The Renaissance
Religious
• Much of the
art, education, music, and
architecture were religious.
• Italy’s strong Catholic culture and
the Catholic Church greatly
influenced much of the
Renaissance.
• Overtime the Renaissance did
produce more secular pieces as
well.
What was the influence of
religion on the Renaissance?
What does secular mean?