Renaissance

The Renaissance

Aims

To understand differences between medieval and Renaissance art

To learn the lives of key Renaissance people.

What was the Renaissance?

The Renaissance was the revival or rebirth of interest in the learning of ancient Greece and Rome. It began in Italy in the 14th Century, mainly in the city of Florence, and spread to other European countries.

What were the causes of the Renaissance in Italy?            

•         Fall of Constantinople: Many scholars (educated people) fled to Italy before the city of Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. They brought with them the learning of ancient Greece and Romans.

•         Ruins of ancient Rome: These were studied and copied by Italian artists and by artists from northern Europe.

•         City States such as Florence, Rome and Milan competed with each other to produce great works or art and architecture

•         The Printing Press: The invention of the printing press meant cheaper books so that knowledge about ancient Greece and Rome spread around Italy and Europe.

•         Wealth and Patronage: Italy grew rich from trade so Italian merchants and rulers (such as the Medici in Florence) sponsored the work  of artists.

How do we know about the Renaissance?

Key sources are:

•      Art and architecture, such as the paintings, sculptures and buildings of the Renaissance

•      Documentary evidence, such as the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci and Vasari’s Lives of the Artists

What was Humanism?

Humanism was a revived interest in the work of ancient Greece and Rome.

Medieval Painting
•      Religious message only •      Painted wood panels •      Lifeless people •      No Variety in Colour •      No Depth (perspective)	•      Perspective (depth) •      Renaissance-style clothes •      Realistic people •      Variety of colours
Themes •      Religious message only – scenes from the  Bible and the lives of Saints	Themes •      Renaissance artists painted many different themes – religious themes, portraits of leaders and their wives, nature and landscape
Materials •            Egg yolk with powdered colours, which dried quickly so changes could not be made	Materials •      Oil with colours so that the paint dried more slowly and artists could vary colours and shading; increased use of canvas
Perspective •            Two – dimensional – the paintings lacked depth	Perspective •      Three-dimensional – the paintings had depth

What is a fresco?

A fresco is a painting done on damp plaster so that the painting became part of the plaster.

•      Example: Michelangelo’s ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Medieval Sculpture •      Religious themes •      Lacking in feeling •      Part of a church or cathedral	Renaissance sculpture •      People were more realistic an lifelike
Architecture
Medieval architecture •      Gothic-style architecture	Renaissance architecture •      Roman-style architecture (also called classical architecture)
Pointed arches over                            windows and doors	Dome
Gothic Spire	Column
Flying Buttress and                                  Buttresses	Rounded arches                                                over doors and                                                 windows

Sistine chapel ceiling

Sistine Ceiling

Renaissance Architecture

Gothic Architecture

 Renaissance lives: Lorenzo de Medici and patronage

1. The de Medici family ruled Florence. They were great patrons of the arts.
2. Lorenzo de Medici was known as ‘the Magnificent’.

•      He supported artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

•      He collected manuscripts in a private library.

•      He set up a school of sculpture to train young sculptors, including Michelangelo.

Lorenzo de Medici

Who were the patrons of the arts?

            These were wealthy merchants or rulers who paid artists to paint pictures, make sculptures or design buildings. The Popes, including Julius II, were also patrons.

What is sfumato?

Sfumato is a painting technique which Leonardo used to blur the outlines of figures and blend them into their surroundings.

•      Example: Leonardo’s painting the Mona Lisa

What happened to medicine during the Renaissance?

Several important developments occurred in medicine during the Renaissance:

•      The human body began to be studied in detail.

•      Vesalius wrote On the Structure of the Human Body, which reported observations made during dissections of the body. He believed that medicine should be based on observation and he corrected many of the old medicine ideas handed down from the Greeks.

•      An Englishman, William Harvey, discovered the blood circulated around the body.

What were the results of the Renaissance?

1. The printing press led to increased education and literacy. It also spread new ideas.
2. The Renaissance fostered a questioning spirit in which old ideas were no longer accepted without question.
3. This questioning spirit led to the Age of Exploration, the Reformation and to new scientific discoveries.
4. The result was new knowledge in geography, science, medicine and astronomy.
5. There is also new developments in painting, sculpture and architecture. These included perspective, sfumato and classical architecture.

	Summary of Main Developments during the Renaissance
Art	Different to medieval painting: many themes – religious, legends, portraits; lifelike people; perspective – 3-dimensional (3D); new materials – oil, canvas; fresco painting Examples: Leonardo da Vinci – The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa; Michelangelo – ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, The Last Judgement – both frescoes; Dürer – the northern Renaissance
Architecture	Different to medieval architecture; Roman-style (classical) with rounded arches, domes, Greek and Roman columns •               Examples: Tiempetto; St Peter’s Basilica, Rome; Florence                         Cathedral
Sculpture	Different to medieval sculpture; lifelike people, sculptures of rulers as well as religious figures •                Examples: Michelangelo’s Pietá (religious), David
	Summary of Main Developments during the Renaissance
Printing	Invented by Gutenberg, moveable metallic type (letters) and printing press; replaced manuscripts (hand-written books); first book printed – 42 line Bible; more and cheaper books; spread of education and literacy; printing helped cause the Reformation – Luther’s 95 Theses were printed and spread mover Germany
Science and medicine	New ideas – Copernicus – Sun centre of universe; backed up by Galileo – used telescope – also discovered four moon of Jupiter; craters on the moon; speed of falling bodies; brought before Inquisition; Vesalius, On the Structure of the Human Body – dissections lead to a better understanding of workings of the body: Harvey – circulation of the blood.

•      People in History

Leonardo da Vinci

1. Leonardo da Vinci was born near Florence. He was apprenticed to Master Verrocchio.
2. He went to work for the ruler of Milan, designing fortifications.
3. He painted The Virgin of the Rocks on canvas. He used a sfumato style in his painting.
4. Da Vinci painted The Last Supper on a dining wall of a monastery in Milan. It was not a true fresco because da Vinci used oil painting.
5. He kept notebooks containing his ideas and studies.
6. He studied astronomy, geology and engineering. He also studied human anatomy by dissecting dead bodies.
7. He designed machines such as the helicopter and a tank.
8. He painted the Mona Lisa in Florence.
9. He died in France.

Virgin on the rocks

The last Supper

Mona Lisa

Past Questions on The Renaissance

Pictures

1. Picture A is a painting called the Adoration of the Magi by Botticelli
1. From the painting, give two pieces of evidence to show that this is a Renaissance painting.
2. Apart from Botticelli, name one Renaissance painter and two of his works.

Short-Answer Questions

1. Give two reasons why the Renaissance began in Italy?
2. Give two reasons why the printing press was important during the Renaissance period.
3. Why were patrons so important during the Renaissance?
4. Name one patron of artists during the Renaissance.
5. Name two features of Renaissance architecture.
6. Name one Renaissance painter from outside of Italy and one of the painter’s works.
7. Name one Renaissance sculpture and one of his works.
8. Mention the name of one Renaissance writer and one work by that writer.
9. Explain two of the following terms relating to the Renaissance: Fresco; Sfumato; Perspective; Humanism.
10. Mention two developments in science or medicine during the Renaissance.
11. Mention one scientific theory or discovery associated with Copernicus or Galileo.

 The Renaissance

Key Points

The Renaissance is a period of a few hundred years in Europe in which many people were eager to study, to learn and to try new ideas. The one country most associated with the Renaissance is Italy and it was there that a great revival of interest in the learning of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome began. However the new ideas also spread to many other countries, especially in northern Europe.

Learning Objectives:From this section, you are expected to know:

• Why the Renaissance began in Italy
• What made Renaissance painting so special?
• The life of one famous Renaissance artist/sculptor
• The life of one Renaissance artist outside Italy
• The life of a Renaissance writer

A famous Renaissance artist

Michelangelo

His early life

• Born near city of Florence 1475
• Educated by Lorenzo de Medici
• Lived in his home - treated him like a son
• Left Florence when Lorenzo died
• Moved to the city of Rome when 21 years old

His love of sculpture

• Produced two very famous pieces of work
• The 'Pieta' - marble, Mary with body of Jesus
• The shepherd boy 'David' - huge 14 foot marble statue
• Both works are absolute masterpieces

Importance of Pope Julius II

• Invited by Pope Julius II to design his tomb
• Pope was an important patron for Michelangelo
• He often quarrelled with the Pope
• Tomb was never finished

His greatest painting achievement

• Asked to paint ceiling of Sistine Chapel
• A fresco painting that took four years
• Painted standing up on a scaffold
• Painted scenes from the Old Testament
• Ceiling is 118 feet long and 43 feet wide
• Also painted 'The Last Judgement' - wall fresco

His final years

• The Dome of St. Peter’s
• Designed by Michelangelo
• Did not live to see work finished
• Died at age of 89 years
• Buried in home city of Florence

Michelangelo

William Shakespeare

Galileo

Albreacht Durer

Mona Lisa

Michelangelo Horrible Histories

Michaelangelo

Renaissance Man

Review Questions

1. What does the word 'Renaissance' mean?
2. When was this period in history and what occurred?
3. Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy?
4. Name some famous Renaissance patrons and explain why they were so important.
5. Explain why the Medici family were so wealthy
6. Briefly describe pre-Renaissance paintings?
7. What made the painting of the Renaissance so unique?
8. Explain how Leonardo da Vinci was such a genius
9. Name one famous da Vinci painting and describe it
10. What was sfumato?
11. Why are the notebooks of da Vinci so important?
12. What was a fresco?
13. Name one Renaissance artist from outside Italy and name one of his works.
14. Name a famous Renaissance architect
15. What were some of the main changes that took place in architecture?
16. Who was Galileo and why was he so important?
17. Why was Johann Gutenberg so important?
18. What was the first book to be printed?
19. Why was the printing press of such importance during the Renaissance?
20. Name a famous Renaissance writer and one of his written works.

Answers

1. The word renaissance means 'rebirth' because people’s interest in things from ancient Greece and Rome was reborn.

2. Took place between 1300 AD to 1650 AD and a new civilisation began which was based on the culture of Greece and Rome.

3. Italy was at the centre of the main trade routes in Europe which brought many Italians into contact with the cultures of the Chinese and the Arabs. Many of the city states of Italy had rulers who were very wealthy and they were willing to sponsor works of art for their own cities. Also the countryside of Italy was filled with ruins and statues which served as models for artists and architects.

4. The two Medici brothers were really rich bankers who also sponsored works of art. Cosimo de Medici was the ruler of Florence and he personally paid for the building of many new public buildings. Also Popes such as Pope Julius II who paid Michaelangelo to work in St. Peter’s church in Rome e.g. He painted the ceiling of the Sistine chapel.

5. They had made a fortune as merchant bankers in the city of Florence.

6. They were usually flat and lifeless – not really lifelike or realistic and the figures were not to scale – mostly were paintings of religious scenes and were painted onto wood panels.

7. Artists used new ways to make their paintings more life-like. They used perspective to give a sense of depth to their paintings. They used oil-based paints. Some did painting on wet plaster called frescoes. Many of the artists studied the human body in order to draw better and a technique called sfumato was used for the painting of faces and bodies.

8. Leonardo da Vinci is considered a genius of the Renaissance because he was a painter, a sculptor and an inventor. He also studied anatomy, astronomy and geology.

9. The Last Supper was painted on the wall of a monastery and it depicts the reaction of the twelve apostles when Jesus had just told them that one of them would betray him. Amazing facial expressions.

10. This was a 'smoky' technique which made human skin look amazingly realistic.

11. His notebooks contain all the information and drawings he made of things that he was interested in. For example, he often dissected dead humans and made detailed drawings of veins, muscles etc. These are all in the notebooks as well as many of his ideas for making new weapons etc.

12. A fresco was a special wall painting done on wet plaster.

13. Albrecht Dürer was a German artist who was influenced by the ideas of the Renaissance. He is most famous for his engravings which were prints often made from wood. He also completed some wonderful paintings of animals.

14. Filippo Brunelleschi who designed the dome for the cathedral in Florence. It took sixteen years to complete and was the largest dome in the world at the time.

15. The architects based their ideas from the ruins of old Roman buildings. They used impressive decorated columns, domes and rounded arches.

16. He was born in Pisa and was a professor of maths. He became a famous astronomer and invented the telescope. He was a supporter of the theories of Copernicus that the planets, including the earth travelled around the sun. The Catholic Church condemned him and a church court tried to force him to renounce his views which he refused. He was kept under house arrest for the rest of his life.

17. Johann Gutenberg was born in Germany. He was a goldsmith and he invented movable metal type which meant that single letters in metal could be used over and over again.

18. The Holy Bible. There are 47 copies still in existence today.

19. The printing press was very important because it allowed books to be produced quickly and cheaply. Also more people could learn to read and write and important religious and political ideas could be spread over large areas much faster. For example, the ideas of Martin Luther in the Reformation were spread quickly all over Germany and beyond.

20. William Shakespeare. Born in Stratford-on-Avon in England. He wrote both poems and plays, many of which are based on stories and legends from Ancient Greece and Rome. 

JC History