European Renaissance and Reformation

European Renaissance and Reformation, 1300–1600

• Trade with the East and ancient manuscript rediscovery led to new ideas about art and culture in Europe
• The Renaissance, meaning rebirth, describes this period
• Martin Luther began the Reformation, a movement to reform the Catholic Church, resulting in non-Catholic churches
• The printing press was invented making books and pamphlets faster and cheaper
• New technology helped spread revolutionary ideas of the Renaissance and Reformation

Rocin's Madonna by Jan van Eyck, 1435

• Classical art influence is showcased through the columns, a classical style component
• Perspective technique used to give objects a sense of depth, smaller in the distance than close-up objects
• Mary with the infant Jesus shows the continued importance of religion in the Renaissance
• The painting shows the importance of individuals by portraying a high status chancellor with fur trimmed robe
• Details were included to simply add beauty, including the design of the floor, the folds of Mary's cloak, and the scenery outside.

Renaissance - Italy: A Rebirth of Culture

• The Italian Renaissance (1300-1600) was a rebirth of learning that produced great art and literature
• Renaissance art and literature still influence modern thought and art
• Europe wanted to celebrate life after war and plague, so the human spirit was revived, and began questioning some institutions of the middle ages
• They questioned the church while people awaited rewards in heaven
• Northern Italy changed how Europeans saw the world, experimenting with styles of art and writing
• Renaissance, meaning rebirth, refers to reviving art and learning
• Educated men and women brought back to life culture of classical Greece and Rome
• People created something new, innovative styles of art and literature
• Renaissance also led to new values, such as the importance of the individual
• Eventually, the Renaissance spread from northern Italy to the rest of Europe
• Thriving cities-Overseas trade spurred growth of large city states in northern Italy
• Northern Italy was urban while the rest of Europe was mostly rural
• Those in cities were an ideal breeding ground for intellectual evolution, with great access to ideas
• Bubonic plague struck cities harshly, killing 60% of population, but this brought economic changes
• Because there were fewer laborers, survivors could demand higher wages
• A wealthy merchant class developed in each Italian city-state
• Merchants dominated politics unlike noble inherited wealth
• Successful merchants believed they deserved power and wealth because of their individual merit

Cultural Values in Italy during the Renaissance

• Florence was a city-state with republican government
• The Medici family came to power by influencing the ruling council through loans
• From 1434, Cosimo de Medici controlled Florence as dictator for 30 years
• He did not seek political office for himself
• Cosimo's Grandson, Lorenzo de Medici, came to power in 1469
• Lorenzo was known as Lorenzo the Magnificent and ruled as dictator, yet kept up the appearance of having an elected government
• Renaissance scholars looked down on the art and literature of the Middle Ages
• Instead they wanted to return to the learnings of the greeks and romans by studying the ruins of Rome
• Western scholars studied ancient Latin manuscripts preserved in monasteries
• Christian scholars Constantinople fled to Rome with Greek manuscripts when the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453
• These new ideas helped them develop a new outlook on life and art
• Classics led to humanism, an intellectual movement that focused on human potential and achievements
• Instead of trying to make classical texts agree with Christian teaching, humanists studied them to understand ancient Greek values
• Also, humanists popularized the study of subjects, like history, literature and philosophy.
• Some people had demonstrated their pity by wearing rough clothing and eating plain foods
• However, humanists suggested that a person might enjoy life without offending God
• Wealthy enjoy material luxuries, good music, and fine foods
• Renaissance society was secular—worldly rather than spiritual and concerned with the here and now
• Even church leaders became more worldly, some lived in beautiful mansions, threw lavish banquets and wore expensive clothes
• Church leaders during the Renaissance beautified Rome and other cities by spending huge amounts of money for art

Renaissance Men and Women and the Arts

• Wealthy families were being patrons of the arts, by financially supporting the artists
• Renaissance writers introduced the idea that all educated people were expected to create art
• The ideal individual strove to master almost every area of study
• Baldassare Castiglione wrote the Courtier about how to become a Renaissance man: charming, witty, well educated
• A Renaissance man should be known for music, dance, poetry, skilled rider, wrestler, and swordsman
• Upper-class women also should know the classics and be charming, yet were not expected to seek fame
• Upper class women were better educated than medieval women
• However, most Renaissance women had little influence in politics
• Isabella d'Este was born into the ruling family of Ferrara and married the ruler of Mantua
• She brought Renaissance artists to her court and built a famous art collection
• She was also skilled in politics, and defended the city with success during conflict

Art and the Renaissance Revolution

• With the support of patrons like Isabella d'Este, dozens of artists worked in northern Italy
• Artistic styles changed, and renaissance artists often portrayed religious subjects, but used a realistic style copied from classical models
• Renaissance painters used perspective, which shows three dimensions on a flat surface
• Following the new emphasis on individuals, painters began to paint prominent citizens
• Sculptor, poet, architect, and painter Michelangelo Buonarroti used a realistic style when depicting the human body
• Donatello also made sculpture more realistic by carving natural postures and expressions that reveal personality
• He revied a biblical form of David, who became a great king, created in the late 1460s. It was the first European sculpture in large nude form

Renaissance Men and Writers

• Leonardo da Vinci was interested in how things worked, was a painter, sculptor, inventor, and scientist
• Da Vinci had a true Renaissance man, filling notebooks of observations and sketches, incorporating finding into his art
• Leonardo da Vinci's mona lisa is among many master pieces, and is known for her beauty
• Produced the Last Supper, showing the personalities of Jesus' disciples shown through facial expressions
• Raphael advances Realism was younger than Michelangelo and Leonardo, often having gentle and expressions he was famous for
• He was famous for his use of perspective, and made such artwork as his most greatest achievement, Raphael filled the walls of Pope Julius II's library with paintings
• Society restricted women's roles, however Italian women became notable painters with Sofonisba Anguissola becoming the first woman artist to gain international recognition
• The first international art star was known for her portraits
• Renaissance writers produced works that reflected the present and followed techniques that modern writers rely on today
• They also wrote in the vernacular, and followed example of Dante's writing in native language: Italian
• In addition, the Renaissance writers wrote for self-expression
• Petrarch and Boccaccio, Francesco Petrarch was the father of Renaissance Humanism who wrote in latin and Italian

Machiavellian Rule

• Stories are supposedly told by a group of worldly young people waiting in a rural villa to avoid the plague sweeping through Florence
• Niccolo Machiavelli's 1513 Book is also known as a political guidebook
• The Decameron stories illustrate both tragic and comic views of life
• The Prince examines how a rule can gain power and keep it
• The book contains a message is that most people are selfish, fickle, and corrupt
• The Prince says to succeed: be a lion but also be a foe
• Primary Source: The questions if it's better to be feared or loved, the choice which is if one may only pick one must be the choice of fear in the Prince Book

Vittoria Colonna

• The women writers who gained fame during the Renaissance usually wrote about the personal subject matter