Renaissance and Reformation Flashcards
(34 cards)
Renaissance
French for “rebirth”; a rebirth in the interest of what humans did and are doing
Three reasons for the Renaissance being in Italy
- Thriving city-states; everyone wanted to go there, and brought their cultures and ideas with them
- Wealthy merchants; bought artwork and architecture and literature (things that humans did). People became artists and architects and writers
- Greek and Roman culture (Rome’s in Italy)
Humanism
What humans accomplished and did (a very important value that came out of the Renaissance)
Francesco Petrarch
The father of humanism
Collected old Greek and Roman texts (as many as possible)
Started the collection trend
Education changed to include
History and English (the humanities)
Secularism
Worldly-based, not spiritually-based
Patron of the arts
Someone who supports the arts (getting portraits painted, buildings built)
Renaissance Man
From the Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione
The characters had certain traits; they were good artists, sculptors, scientists, and inventors (jack of all trades, but master of none)
Renaissance Woman
Expected to have knowledge of the books and science and art, but not meant to produce them
Main artists of the Renaissance - the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling and altarpiece (a lot of people did the walls)
Mainly a sculptor; considered sculpting the hardest form of art (created a statue of David out of a block of marble)
Donatello
Created a bronze David
Leonardo da Vinci
The Renaissance Man
A painter, sculptor, scientist, inventor, everything
He never tried to do medical treatments, even though he had permission to cut open bodies. The drawings were for the doctors, not for him
Obsessed with flight
Invented tanks, helicopters, siege defenses, water-lifting devices
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio)
Did a lot of painting of the Madonna (Mary) and Child (Jesus)
Painted The School of Athens, a fictional gathering of some of the most important people in history
Art techniques
Vanishing point makes it look and feel three-dimensional
Perspective is what shows you a three-dimensional picture on a two-dimensional surface
Vernacular
Your native language
Niccolo Machiavelli
Wrote The Prince, a guidebook on how to be an effective ruler
Is it better for a leader to be feared or loved? Machiavelli said feared, to hold onto your power. Being loved will open you up to being betrayed.
“Strong as a lion, shrewd as a fox.”
“The end justifies the means.”
100% secular and humanistic
Ideas spread north, but they
Had no Greek or Roman influence
Were ruled by monarchs
Were unwilling to give up religion
Albrecht Dürer
Engraver (woodcutter) first, painter second
Created woodcuts and engravings
Really liked when religion and myths came together (Book of Revelations/end of the world)
Spread Renaissance ideas; he could make multiple copies of his woodcuts (they’re like stamps)
Christian humanism
Studying what humans are doing, seen through the lens of Christian morals (values/life lessons)
The Church failed to teach these life lessons adequately.
Desiderius Erasmus (from Holland)
Wrote The Praise of Folly. A satire, pointing out the flaws and shortcomings of the Catholic Church.
People should exhibit Christianity of the Heart; morals should be things that you hold onto it, act on, own.
To figure out the morals, you should read the Bible yourself, instead of relying on the Church.
Thomas More (from England)
Good friends with Erasmus; trying to achieve the same goal.
Wrote Utopia. About a hypothetical world where all negative things disappear; somewhere everyone wants to live. You know what a utopia is. A perfect society with nothing bad in it.
“What can I do to make this world better?” More hoped that people would adopt morals in an effort to create a utopia.
William Shakespeare
Very good at understanding human beings (flaws, shortcomings, what made them tick)
Very good at describing these human beings and writing what he wanted to say.
Johann Gutenberg
Revolutionized the printing press (movable type)
Printed the Gutenberg Bible
Books become much cheaper; more people could access them and it was much easier to spread knowledge.
More people started to learn to read.