Italian Renaissance: Art and Humanism

Study Notes

Artists and writers expressed individualism through humanism, focusing on human potential and achievements, impacting art, literature, and thought.

Renaissance means "rebirth," referring to a revival of art and learning from classical Greece and Rome.
Thriving trade and a wealthy merchant class in Italy supported the Renaissance.
The Medici family were powerful patrons of the arts in Florence.
Classical civilizations of Greece and Rome had a major influence on Renaissance art and thought.
Humanism emphasized human potential and achievements.
Secularism is a focus on worldly matters rather than strictly religious ones.
"Renaissance Man" ideal: someone excelling in many fields (art, science, etc.).

Renaissance art features included perspective, realistic depictions, and classical influences.
Michelangelo was a sculptor, painter, and architect (e.g., Sistine Chapel ceiling, David).
Donatello was a sculptor known for realism (e.g., bronze David).
Leonardo Da Vinci: painter, sculptor, inventor, scientist (e.g., Mona Lisa, The Last Supper).
Raphael was a painter celebrated for his use of perspective and classical themes (e.g., The School of Athens).
Gentileschi was a female painter known for her dramatic and intense depictions.
Vernacular is the native language, which Renaissance writers began to use instead of Latin.

Boccaccio wrote the Decameron, a collection of stories set during the Black Death.
Petrarch was known as the "father of humanism," wrote sonnets in Italian.
Machiavelli wrote "The Prince," a political guidebook on how to gain and keep power.
Vittoria Colonna: a female poet who exchanged sonnets with Michelangelo and helped publish "The Courtier".

Christian/Northern Humanism focused on reforming society through Christian principles.
Erasmus wrote "The Praise of Folly," which criticized the clergy and promoted Christian education.
Thomas More wrote "Utopia," describing an ideal society.
William Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest writer in the English language.
Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press, which helped spread ideas and increase literacy.

Issues in the Catholic Church included corruption, worldliness, and the sale of indulgences.
Early Reformers: Hus and Wycliffe advocated for church reform before Luther. Erasmus also criticized Church practices
Martin Luther's teachings: salvation by faith alone, the Bible as the ultimate authority, and the equality of all believers.
Indulgences were pardons sold by the Church to reduce time in purgatory.
95 Theses: Luther's list of grievances against the Church, posted in 1517.

Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor) opposed Luther and tried to suppress the Reformation.
Lutheranism was the first Protestant denomination.
Peace of Augsburg (1555) allowed each German prince to decide the religion of their state.
Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church because he wanted to divorce his wife.
Act of Supremacy (1534) made the English monarch the head of the Church of England.
The Church of England/Anglican Church was established as a result of Henry VIII's actions.

The Scientific Revolution was a new way of thinking about the natural world based on observation and reason.
Geocentric theory: the belief that the Earth is the center of the universe.
Heliocentric theory: the belief that the Sun is the center of the universe.
Copernicus proposed the heliocentric theory.
Brahe carefully recorded astronomical data that supported Copernicus' ideas.
Kepler mathematically proved the heliocentric theory and planetary motion.
Galileo Galilei made observations with a telescope that supported the heliocentric theory, which led to conflict with the Church.
Isaac Newton developed the laws of universal gravitation.