In Italy the growth of wealthy trading cities and new ways of
thinking helped lead to a rebirth of the arts and learning. This era
became known as the Renaissance.
The Italian Renaissance
As the economy and society changed, new ideas began to appear. This period of interest and developments in art, literature, science and learning is known as the Renaissance, French for “rebirth.”
• Venetian ships carried goods for trade and Greek scholars seeking refuge
• Scholars brought ancient works thought to be lost
Inspiration from the Ancients • Italians who
could read looked for more information
• Read Arabic translations of original texts
• Searched libraries, found lost texts
New World of Ideas
• As they read, began to think about philosophy, art, science in different ways
• Began to believe in human capacity to create, achieve
Different Viewpoints
Renaissance Ideas
The revival of trade in Europe helped bring an end to the Middle Ages & gave rise to the Renaissance
Increased trade gave rise to Italian city-states & a wealthy middle class
of bankers & merchants
Wealthy bankers & merchants wanted to
show off their new status by commissioning art
The rise of cities brought artists
together which led to new techniques
& styles of art
How did the Crusades contribute to the Renaissance?
Crusades (1095 – 1291) = Religiously sanctioned military campaigns waged by Roman Catholics against Muslims who had occupied the near east
since the Rashidun Caliphate (founded after Muhammad’s death in 632, the Rashidun
Caliphate was one of the largest empires of the time period)
Increased demand for Middle Eastern products
Stimulated production of goods to trade in Middle Eastern markets
Encouraged the use of credit and banking
The Renaissance
●Johannes Gutenberg●In 1455, produced the
1st printed book, a bible●Gutenberg Bible
●Used moveable metal type
Literature flourished during the Renaissance and spread Renaissance ideas, which can be greatly attributed to
Johannes Gutenberg.
In 1455 Gutenberg printed the first book produced by using moveable type, The Bible, and started a printing
revolution that would transform Europe.
Literacy rates increased
• Religious paintings focused on personality
• Humanist interest in classical learning, human nature
• Building design reflected humanist reverence for Greek, Roman culture
• Classical architecture favoured
Classical Influence
• Studied perspective, represented three-dimensional objects
• Experimented with using colour to portray shapes, textures
• Subject matter changed; artists began to paint, sculpt scenes from Greek, Roman myths
Artists Methods
Styles and Techniques
The Renaissance produced new ideas that were reflected in the arts, philosophy, and literature.
Patrons, wealthy from newly expanded trade, sponsored works which glorified city-states in northern Italy. Education became increasingly
secular.
Classical art showed the importance of people and leaders, as well as gods and goddesses
Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation
Renaissance art and literature focused on the importance of people and nature, along with
religion
Classical ArtHistory Alive! Pg. 316 ‘Discobolus’
• Figures were lifelike but often idealized (more perfect than in real life)
• Figures were nude or draped in togas (robes)• Bodies looked active, and motion was believable • Faces were calm and without emotion• Scenes showed either heroic figures or real people
doing tasks from daily life
Medieval ArtHistory Alive! Pg. 317 ‘Narthex Tympanum'
• Most art was religious, showing Jesus, saints, people from the Bible, and so on
• Important figures in paintings were shown as larger than others around them
• Figures looked stiff, with little sense of movement• Figures were fully dressed in stiff-looking clothing• Faces were serious and showed little feeling• Paint colors were bright
Renaissance ArtHistory Alive! Pg. 317 ‘The School of Athens’
• Artists showed religious and nonreligious scenes• Art reflected a great interest in nature• Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional, reflecting an
increasing knowledge of anatomy• Bodies looked active and were shown moving• Figures were either nude or clothed• Scenes showed real people doing everyday tasks• Faces expressed what people were thinking• Paintings were often symmetrical (balanced, with the right
and left sides having similar or identical elements)
Renaissance artists embraced some of the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome in their art.
The purpose of art would no longer be to glorify God, as it had been in Medieval Europe. Artists wanted their
subjects to be realistic and focused on humanity and emotion.
New Techniques also emerged.
Art and Patronage
Italians patrons (financial supporters) were willing to spend a lot of money on art
– Art communicated social, political, and spiritual values and therefore being able to buy art was used as a form of competition for social and political status.
What was different in the Renaissance?
Realism
Perspective
Emphasis on individualism
Geometrical arrangement of figures
Light and shadowing
Softening of edges
Artist able to live from commissions
Characteristics of Renaissance Art
1. Realism & 1. Realism & ExpressionExpression
Expulsion from the Garden
Masaccio
1427
First nudes since classical times.
2. Perspective
Perspective!Perspective!PerspectivePerspective!!Perspective!Perspective!
PerspectivePerspective!!PerspectivePerspective!!
First use First use of linear of linear
perspective!perspective!
PerspectivePerspective!!PerspectivePerspective!!
The Trinity
Masaccio
1427
What you are, I once was; what I
am, you will become.
4. Emphasis on Individualism
Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre: The Duke & Dutchess of Urbino
Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.
5. Geometrical Arrangement of Figures
Leonardo da Vinci
1469
The figure as architecture!
The Dreyfus Madonna with the Pomegranate
6. Light & Shadowing/Softening Edges6. Light & Shadowing/Softening Edges
Chiaroscuro:use of light and shade
Sfumato:gradual blending of one area of color into another without a sharp outline
Ginevra de' Benci, a young Florentine noblewoman who, at the age of sixteen, married Luigi Niccolini in 1474.
1452-1519
Painter, Sculptor, Architect,
Mathematician, Engineer
Mona Lisa(1503-1506)
The Last Supper(1495-1498)
Jesus and his apostles on the night before the crucifixion
Notebooks
Leonardo da Vinci dissected corpses to learn how bones and muscles work
Born in 1475 in a small town near Florence, is considered to be one of the most inspired men who ever
lived; he was a sculptor, painter, engineer, architect, and poet.
David
Michelangelo created his masterpiece
David in 1504.
The Biblical shepherd, David (who killed Goliath) recalls the harmony and grace of ancient Greek tradition
15c15c
16c 16c
WhatWhat
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centurycentury
makes!makes!
Sistine ChapelAbout a year after creating
David, Pope Julius II summoned Michelangelo to Rome to work on his most famous project, the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Depicts the biblical history of the world from the Creation to the Flood
Creation of Eve Creation of Adam
Separation of Light and Darkness The Last Judgment
Pieta 1499Marble Sculpture
Captures the sorrow of the Virgin Mary as she cradles her dead son, Jesus on her knees
Moses
Northern RenaissanceNorthern RenaissanceThe Renaissance in northern Europe (outside Italy)
• There was increased cultural exchange between European countries
• Printed materials helped to spread ideas
• Centralization of political power made the northern Renaissance distinct from the Italian Renaissance (e.g., nation-states instead of Italian city-states)
• Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas.
• Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity.
• The movable type printing press and the production and sale of books (Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate ideas and allowed more people to become educated.
•Cultural and educational reform
•The study of classical culture (ancient Greece and Rome), in contrast with the study of things related to the church and religion
• Celebrated the individual
•Was supported by wealthy patrons (financial supporters)
Virtual Tour of the Sistine Chapel
http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html