THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE Flashcards
What is the key takeaway of the Italian Renaissance?
The Renaissance was a self-conscious movement to re-engage Classical knowledge in literature, art, architecture, science, philosophy, etc. It was a deliberate break from the Middle Ages.
- A purposeful effort to reconnect with classical knowledge (ex. Greek) in cultural things. Attempt to break from middle ages
Where is the Northern Renaissance?
*Northern Renaissance in present-day Germany & the Netherlands
Did the black death make way for renaissance?
(30%-60%) Europe dies
More space for money and art
What is the Byzantine Empire?
was the continuation of the Roman Empire centered in Constantinople
What does the gradual fall of the Byzantine Empire lead to?
Greeks into more contact with italy
What is gothic architecture?
Seen as bad, because it takes Arabic design elements (spiky and ribby) (they were enemies of Rome)
What is the broader term for re-engaging Classical knowledge?
Humanism
What is humanism?
Humanism was a philosophy centered on the study of the human and human nature as inspired by Classical sources
*Drawing from the well of the Classics to purify our world
*This is a program of reform that is heavily focused on education & scholarship
What is the opposite of humanism?
scholasticism
- based on Aristotelian logic and the writings of the early Church Fathers and having a strong emphasis on tradition and dogma.
narrow-minded insistence on traditional doctrine.
“an absorption in the past without a hint of scholasticism”
Why was the Italian Renaissance focused in Italy?
The social and political conditions are right
Small city states= emphasis on craftspeople and tradespeople, more then farming
more personal liberty?
Homosociality was popular at the time, what is it?
Social circle was of ppl with the same gender
What is the direct opposite of scholasticism / Medieval life
Sociability
Does classic knowledge fit into Christianity?
Yes
Why else is Italy suited to the renaissance?
*Strong university culture spurred Classical exploration
*Economy heavily based on trade leads to more intercultural contact and exchange
*Lots of small states + the Pope = lots of patrons
When was this happening in Italy?
14th – 16th centuries
13th century economic growth (mostly via trade)
*Hanseatic league in Northern Europe + City States of the Mediterranean
*Banking developments make cities rich
*High Renaissance: c. 1490-1527Map of Italy in 1494, via Wikimedia.
Why was banking important to the renaissance?
Banks were invented for trade
argued the renaissance is because of banking
Why is Florence important?
where the Renaissance began: in Italy
- Important figures born here: people like Dante, Machiavelli, and Boticelli
How was Florence Ruled?
Florence is a Republic until 1532
Medici family in control = powerful patrons of art and culture
*Controlled Florence through their wealth rather than by directly taking control
*Nonetheless expelled from Florence as part of the Pazzi conspiracy from 1494 to 1512
- Di this my having two heirs (one stay in power and one went to the church - control the two most important parts of society)
Where is the center of humanism?
Rome
Return of the pope spikes up popularity in the area
What was Avignon Papacy?
Avignon papacy, Roman Catholic papacy during the period 1309–77, when the popes took up residence at Avignon, France, instead of at Rome (Made Rome less popular- population dropped)
Pope Gregory came back = beginning of struggle to regain power in city
Martin V (an Italian Pope) finally returns the Papacy to Rome in 1420
What sustained Rome after Fall of the Western Roman Empire?
Papacy
The lavish spending of important Church officials + regular visitors and pilgrims
What attracted of humanist scholars to Rome?
seeking the Pope’s patronage
*The Pope has a lot of power to grant titles, monopolies, and other special favour
- Beginning of New St. Peter’s Basilica
- Sack of Rome in 1527 by Holy Roman
Emperor’s troops
*End of High Renaissance
What is notable about the architecture at the time?
Borrowing Classical styles
*Temples / Churches =
Rounded domes without vaults
*Proportion is really important (e.g.
arches are twice as wide as they are
high, everything symmetrical, etc.)
*The goal is to draw a sharp distinction between the Gothic style and the Renaissance (Roman arches)
Melding of Christianity and classics
Ex. Florence Dome
Visual art: What is different between Medieval vs. Renaissance paintings
Medieval:
- Interested in narratives
- Identify characters
Renaissance:
-Very realism based
How did people study art in renaissance?
*Study of perspective
*Study of the human body
*Dissection is secretly practiced (was
technically banned)
*Leonardo is 15th/16thcentury and is taking advantage of developments that predate his life
Themes of the paintings:
*Classical and religious imagery
*Natural gaze and gesture
*Natural landscapes
*Allegorical, mythical, religious, and realistic scene
What is in painting: Titian, Sacred and Profane Love? (Two women - one naked and one dressed)
- Sacred love for god vs love of classics
- Sacred and profane
What is the first Renaissance art form?
SCULPTURE
What were sculptures based off?
General preference for unpainted sculpture (in mistaken imitation of Greece) (Greek ones were actually painted - also related to white supremacy (white = pure))
Place where from Antiquity + technical innovations first collided?
Sculptures
Past inspirations + new technical advances
Who was GIORGIO VASARI?
The Renaissance art hype man
wrote The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (why we care about Renaissance art)
He wrote biographies of famous artists explaining why they matter and why their work is beautiful
Used the term “Rinascita” (where we got Renaissance from) - Emphasized Florentine art (why we think of Florence when think of Renaissance)
What was the renaissance philosophy about?
Petrarch = Notable (hinge author)
- First / early humanist
*Renaissance philosophy often characterized as backwards-looking because of its Classical influence
*Political philosophy: Petrarch, Machiavelli, etc.
*Philosophical literature & poetry (e.g. Dante)
What did Petrarch mostly write about?
Combining: Christian ethics with Classical example
Either the last Medieval or first Renaissance writer
*Poet and Classical scholar
*“Rediscovery” of Cicero (was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, writer and Academic skeptic)
Where did Scientific and technological ideas come from?
Byzantine Empire
What was the role of the church on scientific discoveries?
Scientific knowledge has to conform to Church knowledge
EX. Galileo (1564-1642)
The Italian Renaissance is often characterized as anti-scientificIs this true?
NO
What is Galenic Medicine?
Four Humors
- Yellow, Black, Phlegm and blood
Who was Galen?
a Greek physician living in Rome
- dissected stuff for anatomy
- championed humoural medicine
What else was observed at this time? (anatomy wise)
Brain and other organs (live dissections in Universities)
What was discovered with Geography & Navigation?
Maps= more precise
Magnetic compass begin to appear in Europe c. 130
What was going on with Alchemy at the time?
*Non-academic science, often geared at producing cures for disease or producing gold
*Precursor to Chemistry
What was going on with politics at the time?
Not much political change
What did Humanism emphasize?
interdisciplinarity
*The 5 liberal arts train you to do a lot
of different things
What is “the polymath”
someone who has numerous talents and skills
ex. Leonardo who wrote treatises on the body, painted, and drafted mechanical design
What caused the decline of the Italian Renaissance?
Backlash against “vanity” within Florence (wanted chruch to be less lavish)
Decline in Papal authority (Reformation and Sack of Rome)
*Series of invasions in Northern Italy weaken the region
*Decline of the Mediterranean and rise of the Atlanti
What is Savonarola & the bonfire of the vanities?
Set art, wigs, etc on fire.
- He was then burned in return
