I.

Italian City-states
A. Why Italy?
1. There was a new interest in the culture of ancient
Rome
2. Unlike other places, Italian cities survived the
Middle Ages and grew into prosperous centers of
trade and manufacturing
3. A wealthy merchant class further promoted this
cultural rebirth
a) They stressed education and individual
achievement
b.) They spend lavishly to support the arts
ë. Florence and the Medicis
1. Florence came to symbolize the energy and
brilliance of the Renaissance
2. It produced a number of gifted poets, artists,
architects, scholars, and scientists
3. The Medici family organized a successful banking
business (1400s)
a.) Among the richest merchants and bankers in
Europe
b.) Cosimo deǯMedici gained control of the
Florentine govǯt in 1434 and the family continued
as uncrowned rulers for many years
c.) Lorenzo Dzthe Magnificentdz - politician who
held Florence together in the late 1400s; a
á
 (financial supporter) of the arts
II. What was the Renaissance? Ȃ A time of creativity and change in
political, social, economic, and cultural areas
A. A New Worldview
1. Creative Renaissance minds set out to transform their own
age
2. They believed this was a time of rebirth after what they saw
as disorder and disunity of the medieval world
3. Renaissance Europe did not break completely with its
medieval past
a.) Latin had survived as the language of the Church and
the educated
b.) The mathematics of Euclid, astronomy of Ptolemy, and
works of Aristotle were well-known
4. Unlike medieval scholars who focused on life after death,
Renaissance scholars explored the richness and variety of
human experience in the here and now
ë. A Spirit of Adventure
1. Christopher Columbus, who sailed to the Americas,
represented the Renaissance spirit of adventure.
2. Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish scientist, revolutionized the
way people viewed the universe
C. Humanism
1. ëased on the study of classical culture, it focused on
worldly subjects rather than on religious issues
2. Most humanists were pious Christians who hoped to use
the wisdom of the ancients to increase their understanding
of their own times
3. They believed that education should stimulate creative
powers
4. They returned to the humanities Ȃ subjects taught in
ancient Greek and Roman schools
a.) Grammar, rhetoric, poetry, and history based on
Greek and Roman texts.
5. Francesco Petrarch - an early Renaissance humanist
who found and assembled a library of Green & Roman
manuscripts
III. A Golden Age in the Arts
A. Humanist Concerns
1. Renaissance artists portrayed religious figures
such as Jesus & Mary
2. However, they often set the figures against
Greek or Roman backgrounds
ë. New Techniques
1. Artists learned the rules of perspective Ȃ
making distant objects smaller than those close
to the viewer to make it three-dimensional
2. They used shading to make objects look round
and real
3. They studied human anatomy and drew from
live models
 C. Women Artists
1. Some women overcame
the limits on education to
become professional artists
2. In the 1500s, Sofonisba
Anguissola became court painter
for King Philip II of Spain
D. Architecture
1. Renaissance architects
rejected the Gothic style of
the late Middle Ages as
cluttered and disorderly
2. They adopted the
columns, arches, and domes
that the Greeks favored
IV. Three Geniuses of Renaissance Art
A. Leonardo da Vinci
1. Made sketches of nature and models in his studio
2. His most popular is the Mona Lisa
3. The Last Supper, shows Christ and his apostles the night
before his crucifixion
4. He made sketches for flying machines and undersea boats
ë. Michelangelo
1. Sculptor, engineer, painter,
architect, and poet
2. His statue of David, the
biblical shepherd who killed
Goliath recalls the harmony of
ancient Greek tradition
3. His greatest project was a
huge mural on the ceiling of
the 4. Sistine Chapel in Rome
which depicted the biblical
history of the world

C. Raphael
1. ëest known for his
portrayals of the Madonna,
mother of Jesus
V. Italian Renaissance Writers
A. Castigliones Ideal Courtier
„. The Book of the Courtier described the manners,
skills, learning, and virtues that a member of the court
should have (ideal courtier was well-educated, well-
mannered aristocrat who mastered many fields from
poetry to music to sports)
2. Ideal man: athletic but not overactive, good at
games but not a gambler. Plays a musical instrument
but not arrogant
3. Ideal woman: graceful and kind, lively but reserved,
beautiful
ë. Machiavelliǯs Successful Prince
1. In The Prince (1513) he offered a guide to rulers on how to
gain and maintain power
2. Stressed the end justifies the means Ȃ urged rulers to use
whatever methods necessary to achieve their goals
3. His work continues to spark debate because it raises ethical
questions about the nature of government and the use of
power