The Renaissance Power Point

The Renaissance The “Re-Birth” of European Art and Learning

The “Re-Birth” Begins The Renaissance began in Northern Italy and lasted from 1300 to 1600. It was spurned by the rediscovery of Greek and Roman texts and contact with Islamic lands to the East.

Why did it start in Italy? http://www.coloradocollege.edu/Dept/HY/Ashley/hy105/Map_-_Medieval_Trade_Routes_and_Regional_Products.JPG

Proximity to trade routes. Contact with Mediterranean world (Islamic and Jewish scholars) Established cities where rich merchants could sponsor artists and students. First universities were established in Paris and Bologna, Italy. Students were mostly sons of merchants and destined for work in church or state.

Humanism The study of Roman and Greek texts propelled humanism, an intellectual movement that focused on human potential and achievements. Humanism marked a break between intellectual study and the teachings of the Catholic church.

Art Renaissance artists used a realistic style modeled on Greek and Roman sculpture.

Literature Translation of Greek, Roman, and Arabic texts to Latin helped fuel the Renaissance, but the most important literary advance was the use of the vernacular. Vernacular-native language spoken on an everyday basis; common language Dante’s Inferno was the first example of the use of vernacular in Renaissance literature.

An English Example: “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.” William Shakespeare.

Renaissance Spreads By 1450, Northern European populations were beginning to rebound after being decimated by the Bubonic Plague. The Hundred Years’ War between France and England ended in 1453 ushering in an era of relative peace. European cities began to grow as trade increased and improving economies led to the rise of a merchant class (middle class) able to support the arts.

The Amolfini Wedding, Jan van Eyck (Bruges)

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel

Donatello: David in bronze and The Virgin and Child, Sant’ Antonio, Padua