Renaissance Background

Open Ended

What do you already know about the Renaissance?

The Renaissance

1485-1660

• Renaissance- a French word meaning rebirth

  • Refers to a renewed interest in classical (Greco-Roman) learning

  • Renewal of curiosity and creativity as people began thinking more about themselves and their world

  • a fervent period of cultural, artistic, political, and economic rebirth/renewal following the Middle Ages

  • The Renaissance bridged the gap between the Middle Ages and modern civilization

Multiple Choice

The Renaissance time period began in...

• 1200

• 1485

• 1560

• 1325

Humanism

• During the Middle Ages, Europe made few advances in science and art and had little regard for ancient philosophies or learning

• In the 14th century, humanism began to gain momentum in Italy

  • Humanism promoted the idea that man was the center of his own universe and human achievements in science, arts, education, etc should be embraced

    • Goal: use the classics to explore philosophical questions and to strengthen Christianity instead of discrediting it

Open Ended

What do you notice in the following painting? How might this relate to the Renaissance?

The start of the Renaissance

• The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy which was the hub of a lot of energy and creativity at the time and where wealthy citizens could afford to support budding artists

  • Members of the powerful Medici family were famous backers of the movement

  • The movement expanded to other Italian city-states first and then, in the 15th century, ideas spread from Italy to France and then throughout western and northern Europe

The Renaissance Worldview

• Art, architecture, and science were viewed as being linked together

• Renaissance art valued realism and naturalism

  • Artists used perspective, shadows, and light to portray subjects in a true-to-life way

• Exploration and discovery was highly valued as voyagers launched expeditions to travel the globe and discover new shipping routes

Multiple Choice

Based on what you learned, which of the following pieces of art is most likely to be from the Renaissance?

Draw

Draw a renaissance-style portrait of someone in the room.

Open Ended

Who was the following person? What was his contribution to the Renaissance?

The Renaissance Worldview

• People were encouraged to explore religion for themselves

  • More people learned to read, write, and interpret text, so new ideas could spread much more rapidly

• Renaissance thinkers and artists believed in and sought to capture human beings as noble and capable of perfection

  • The power and capacity of the human being was emphasized

Multiple Choice

Renaissance thinkers believed human beings were...

• Inherently sinful and corrupt

• one with God

• noble and capable of perfection

• Manipulative and sociopathic

Open Ended

Brainstorm with someone sitting near you before typing your answer in.

Based on what you've learned, what can you expect Renaissance literature to be like? What forms of literature/subjects do you expect to be valued?