Discover the Renaissance

The Renaissance: A Cultural Movement in Early Modern Europe

• The Renaissance was a period in European history characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas and achievements of classical antiquity, marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity.

• The period occurred after the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages and was associated with great social change.

• The Renaissance is traditionally dated to the 15th and 16th centuries, but some argue for a "long Renaissance" beginning in the 14th century and ending in the 17th century.

• The intellectual basis of the Renaissance was humanism, derived from the concept of Roman humanitas and the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy.

• The Renaissance saw innovative developments in art, architecture, politics, science, and literature, with notable figures such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

• The Renaissance began in Italy, with Florence as one of the many states, and spread throughout Europe.

• The origins of the Renaissance in Italy are debated, with several theories proposed to explain its emergence.

• Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, searching for realism and human emotion in art.

• The Renaissance saw a revival of neoplatonism and a shift in the way intellectuals approached religion, reflected in many areas of cultural life.

• The movement to reintegrate the regular study of Greek literary, historical, oratorical, and theological texts back into the Western European curriculum is usually dated to the 1396 invitation from Coluccio Salutati to the Byzantine diplomat and scholar Manuel Chrysoloras to teach Greek in Florence.

• Renaissance humanists also began increasingly to use vernacular languages and the printing press, allowing more people access to books and knowledge.

• The Renaissance could be viewed as an attempt by intellectuals to study and improve the secular and worldly, both through the revival of ideas from antiquity and through novel approaches to thought.The Renaissance in Italy: Factors, Characteristics, and Achievements

• The Renaissance in Italy was a cultural movement in the 14th-17th centuries characterized by a renewed interest in classical learning, art, and science.

• Italy's political fragmentation, commercial prosperity, artistic patronage, and intellectual crossroads were conducive to the Renaissance.

• The Black Death devastated Florence in the 14th century, causing a shift in the world view of people and a new wave of piety and religious art.

• The demographic decline due to the plague increased the value of the working class and commoners' freedom, and lowered food prices and land values.

• Humanism was the method of learning that emphasized studying ancient texts in the original and appraising them through reasoning and empirical evidence.

• Humanist education was based on the study of five humanities: poetry, grammar, history, moral philosophy, and rhetoric.

• Humanists believed in the genius of man and the unique and extraordinary ability of the human mind to achieve intellectual and physical excellence.

• Renaissance art emphasized realism, linear perspective, light, shadow, and human anatomy, and aimed to depict the beauty of nature and unravel the axioms of aesthetics.

• Renaissance architects aimed to use columns, pilasters, and entablatures as an integrated system, emulating and improving on classical forms.

• Science and art were intermingled in the early Renaissance, with polymath artists such as Leonardo da Vinci making observational drawings of anatomy and nature.

• The willingness to question previously held truths and search for new answers resulted in a period of major scientific advancements, including the scientific method.

• Europeans visited and mostly mapped every continent during the Renaissance, except Antarctica.The Renaissance: Spread, Development, and Influence in Europe

• The Renaissance began in Italy in the 14th century and quickly spread to the rest of Europe.

• The development of printing allowed for the rapid transmission of Renaissance ideas.

• The Renaissance was characterized by a renewed interest in classical antiquity and a focus on humanism and individualism.

• The arts, sciences, and music flourished during the Renaissance, with many works commissioned by the Church.

• The Renaissance had a profound effect on contemporary theology, with many theologians following the humanist method.

• The Renaissance played a direct role in sparking the Reformation and other religious debates and conflicts.

• The Renaissance spread to England, France, Germany, and the Low Countries, where it was adapted to local culture.

• In England, the Renaissance marked the beginning of Shakespeare's work and the introduction of Italianate architecture.

• In France, the Italian Renaissance arrived in 1495 and was promoted by King Francis I, who imported Italian art and artists.

• In Germany, the Renaissance spirit spread in the second half of the 15th century, with artists such as Albrecht Dürer pre-dating Italian influence.

• Hungary was the first European country after Italy to experience the Renaissance, with early Italian-Hungarian relationships contributing to the development of local Renaissance art.

• The reign of King Matthias Corvinus in Hungary saw the construction of Gothic and Renaissance palaces, the establishment of a printing press, and the creation of the Bibliotheca Corviniana, Europe's greatest collection of secular books.The Renaissance in Various European Countries

• The Italian Renaissance influenced the culture of the Netherlands through trade and patronage of artists, scientists, and cartographers.

• The Northern Renaissance, also known as the "Netherlandish School," was characterized by the polyphonic music of the Burgundian School and the development of oil painting by the Van Eyck brothers.

• Poland's Golden Age of culture during the Renaissance was marked by a century without major wars, the peaceful spread of the Reformation, and the dominance of the nobility in the new political system of Golden Liberty.

• Portugal played a significant role in broadening the European worldview through exploration and advances in mathematics, astronomy, and naval technology, as well as the development of the Manueline style of architecture.

• Russia was influenced by Renaissance trends from Italy and Central Europe, particularly in architecture, printing, and military technologies, but also developed its own unique style of stone tented roof architecture and icon painting.

• The Renaissance arrived in Spain through the Kingdom of Aragon and the city of Valencia, with early writers and poets such as the Marquis of Santillana introducing Italian poetry to Spain.

• Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote is credited as the first Western novel, and later Spanish Renaissance literature focused on religious themes, mysticism, and issues related to the exploration of the New World.

• The term "Renaissance" was first used by Giorgio Vasari to describe a break with the barbarities of Gothic art, and was popularized in the 19th century to describe the self-conscious cultural movement based on revival of Roman models that began in the late 13th century.

• French historian Jules Michelet defined the Renaissance as an entire historical period from Columbus to Copernicus to Galileo, while Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt defined it as the period between Giotto and Michelangelo in Italy.

• The modern interpretation of the Italian Renaissance has been influenced by Burckhardt's view of it as the emergence of the modern spirit of individuality, but some historians have been less keen to define it as a historical age or a coherent cultural movement.

• The spread of the printing press technology boosted the Renaissance in Northern Europe, with Venice becoming a world center of printing.

• The Renaissance had a significant impact on various fields, including art, music, literature, architecture, science, and technology, and contributed to the emergence of the modern world.