-
What is perspective(How did the Renaissance painters use it in their paintings? What effect did it have on the paintings?)?
-
What was the printing process?
- It was the start of a revolution that would change history.
- The printing press allowed books to be printed much more quickly, cheaper, and in larger quantities.
- Prior to this time, books had been copied by hand, which made them expensive and therefore only available to the upper classes.
- With books now more readily available, more people at all levels of society learned to read, gaining knowledge in a broad range of subjects.
-
What were the Italian city-states?
- During the Middle Ages, many city-states had developed in Italy, including Venice, Florence, Genoa, and Naples.
- They grew into prosperous centers of trade and manufacturing.
- This prosperity created a rich and powerful merchant class who would go on to use their wealth to support the cultural rebirth by supporting the arts and encouraging education.
- Each controlled by a wealthy family.
- Venice had a republican government headed by an elected doge, or duke.
-
Who was Johannes Gutenberg?
- A German metalworker developed the printing press, a printing technique using moveable type.
- In 1456, he printed a complete edition of the Bible in Latin, generally considered to be the first printed book.
-
Who was William Shakesphere?
- One of the world’s best known playwrights, wrote during the late 1500’s.
- His works include tragedies set in ancient Greece and Rome, such as Antony and Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, as well as other works set in Renaissance Italy, like The Merchant of Venice, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet.
- These works along with other including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth remain some of the greatest works of world literature.
-
Who was Leonardo da Vinci?
- Genius with multiple talents.
- He was not only a painter and sculpture, but was endlessly curious about the mechanics of both man-made and natural objects.
- He dissected corpses and made detailed sketches of the body’s systems.
- He also sketched flying machines and submarines far before their invention.
- Two of his best known painting are the Mona Lisa, a portrait of a Florentine woman, and the Last Supper, a painting of Christ and his disciples on the night before the crucifixion.
-
What is venacular?
The everyday language of ordinary people.
-
What is humanism?
- A movement based on the study of classical writings.
- Unlike medieval thinkers who had focused on religious issues, humanist scholars wrote on a variety of worldly subjects, they embraced the ancient Greek idea that an ideal person should be knowledgeable in many areas including politics, history, art, literature, music, and philosophy.
-
-
Who is Machiavelli?
- In The Prince, Machiavelli describes the methods and techniques a leader needs to acquire and maintain his throne.
- The book raised many controversial issues, as it advised rulers to be prepared to use force and deceit to retain their power.
-
Who is the Medici family and what did they do?
- The Medicis were among the richest and most successful merchants and bankers in Europe.
- The commissioned many works of arts to display in their mansions and gardens.
- Florence in the 1400s came under the control of an important banking family known as the Medici.
- Medici rulers helped to promote humanism by supporting the arts and education.
- The first Medici to rule Florence was Cosimo de’ Medici.
- He worked to reduce peasant uprisings by introducing an income tax that placed a heavier tax burden on the wealthy.
- He then used those tax revenues to make improvements to the city, including sewers and paved streets.
- He also worked to establish peaceful relations with his neighboring city-states.
- His grandson, Lorenzo de’ Medici, who ruled from 1469-1492, attempted to continue the policies of his grandfather.
- As a result, Florence grew in prosperity and renown.
-
What is the Renaissance?
- Western Europe entered a period of cultural awakening which has come to be known as the Renaissance, which means “rebirth”.
- It was a time of new developments in painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature.
- The Renaissance marks the beginning of early modern times.
- It began in Italy and later spread to the rest of Europe.
- As Italians were daily surrounded by the remains of the once great Roman Empire, Italy was a natural place for this renewed interest in Greek and Roman classical learning to arise.
|
|
