The Early Renaissance

1
The Early Renaissance
Italy during the Renaissance
Europe during the Renaissance
2
Outline Chapter 12
Chapter 12 The Early Renaissance OUTLINE Toward
the Renaissance The First Phase Masaccio,
Ghiberti, Brunelleschi The Medici Era Cosimo
de' Medici Piero de' Medici Lorenzo the
Magnificent The Character of Renaissance
Humanism Pico della Mirandola Printing
Technology and the Spread of Humanism Women
and the Renaissance Two Styles of Humanism
Machiavelli Erasmus Music in the Fifteenth
Century Guillaume Dufay Music in Medici
Florence
3
Timeline Chapter 12
Timeline Chapter 12 The Early Renaissance 1401
Ghiberti wins Florence Baptistry competition
1420 Brunelleschi begins Florence Cathedral
Dome 1434 van Eyck, Giovanni Arnolfini and His
Bride 1435 Alberti, Della Pictura (On
Painting) 1456 Gutenberg prints Bible with
movable type 1469 Lorenzo de' Medici rules
Florence (1469-1492) 1478-1482 Botticelli ,
Spring , (c.1478), The Birth of Venus (1482) 1486
Pico della Mirandola, Oration on the Dignity of
Man(Renaissance Humanism ) 1486-1487
Cereta's humanist letters 1489 Savonarola
preaches against Florentine immorality (d.
1498) 1495-1498 Leonardo, Last Supper, Mona Lisa
1501-1504 Michelangelo, David 1509 Erasmus,
The Praise of Folly 1513 Machiavelli, The
Prince
4
Focus on Florence
The main focus of this chapter is on the city of
Florence in the fifteenth century. There are two
basic reasons for this attention, one rooted in
politics and economics and the other based in the
complex and varied human resources of the city.
5
The Political and Economic Significance of
Florence
Florence was not a feudal city governed by a
hereditary prince it had a species of limited
participatory government that was in the hands
of its landed and monied peoples. It was the
center of European banking in the fifteenth
century and the hub of international wool and
cloth trade. The vast monies in Florentine hands
combined with a great sense of civic pride to
give the city unparalleled opportunities for
expansion and public works. The results can be
seen in the explosion of building, art,
sculpture, and learning that stretched throughout
the century. The great banking families of
Florence built and supported art to enhance
their reputations, that of their cities, and,
partly, as a form of expiation for the sin of
taking interest on money, a practice forbidden
by the church. We tend to see Florence today from
the perspective of their generosity.
6
The Social Fabric of Florence
Other forces besides politics and economics in
15th century Florence were, of course, at work.
The urban workers were exploited they had rioted
during the end of the fourteenth century and were
ready for further protest. An undercurrent of
medieval religiosity in the city manifested
itself most conspicuously in the rise of
Savonarola, who not only appealed to the common
people but who had a reputation for sanctity that
could touch the lives of an educated man like
Pico della Mirandola and a powerful one like
Lorenzo the Magnificent. Every Florentine could
visit the Duomo or see the art in the city's
churches, but not everyone was equally touched by
the great renaissance in ideas and art that
bubbled up in Florence.
7
The Wealth of Artistic Talent in 15th Century
Florence
Most puzzling about Florence in this period is
the sheer enormity of artistic talent it
produced. Florence was not a huge city it
often portrayed itself as a David in comparison
to a Roman or Milanese Goliath. Yet this
relatively small city produced a tradition of art
that spanned the century In sculpture Donatello
and Michelangelo bridged the generations, as did
Masaccio and Botticelli in painting. Part of the
explanation, of course, was native talent, but
part of it also lies in the character of a city
that supported the arts, nurtured artists, and
enhanced civic life with beauty and learning.
8
Masaccio
Masaccio (1401-1427?), was the first great
painter of the Italian Renaissance, whose
innovations in the use of scientific perspective
inaugurated the modern era in painting.
Masaccio. Trinity with the Virgin, Saint John
the Evangelist, and Donors, fresco in the
Church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence.
1425-28(?)
used full perspective for the first time in
Western art.
Madonna and Child with St. Annec. 1424Tempera
on panel
9
Ghiberti
GHIBERTI, Lorenzo (b. 1378, d. 1455)
North Doors (Life of Christ)1403-24Gilded
bronze, 457 x 251 cmBaptistry, Florence
Last Supper1403-24Gilded bronze, 39 x 39
cmBaptistry, Florence
10
Brunelleschi
Dome of the Cathedral1420-36-Duomo, Florence
Interior of the churchbegun 1436-Santo Spirito,
Florence
11
The Medici Era

• Cosimo de Medici - Patron
• Donatello
• Fra Angelico
• Piero deMedici - Patron
• Boticelli
• Lorenzo the Magnificent - Patron
• Boticelli
• Leonardo
• Michelangelo

Lorenzo by Andrea del Verocchio, 1480
The patronage of the Medici family gave
sustenance to many of the most important Artists
of the early Renaissance in Florence. The
artists above are grouped according to their
respective Medici patrons. (See the Notes
section for each patron and artist for
biographical information on this slide and the
slides that follow.)
12
Donatello
St Mary Magdalenc. 1457Wood, height 188
cmFlorence
Davidc. 1430Bronze, height 185 cmFlorence
13
Fra Angelico
The Naming of St. John the Baptist1434-35Tempera
on panel, 26 x 24 cmMuseo di San Marco, Florence
Annunciation 1450Tempera on wood, 38,5 x 37
cmMuseo di San Marco, Florence
14
Botticelli
Primaverac. 1482Tempera on panel
Adoration of the Magic. 1475Tempera on panel,
111 x 134 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence
St Sebastian1474Tempera on panel, 195 x 75 cm
The Birth of Venusc. 1485Tempera on canvas
15
Leonardo da Vinci
The Last Supper, 1498Mixed technique, 460 x 880
cm
Virgin of the Rocks1483-86Oil on panel
Mona Lisa (La Gioconda)c. 1503-5Oil on panel,
77 x 53 cm
16
Michelangelo (early work)
David1504Marble, 434 cmFlorence
Bacchus1497Marble, 203 cmFlorence
Christ Carrying the Cross (detail)1521Marble
Rome
17
The Character of Renaissance Humanism

• Renaissance rebirth
• Rebirth of classical aesthetics and human
  (secular) values
• Democratization
• Quest for worldly fame
• Emphasis on learning and science
• Pico della Mirandola synthesis of learning
  yeilding elemental truth
• Printing technology spread of learning and
  human values
• Role of Women ideal of beauty and nature
  education of women

18
Two Styles of Humanism

• Machiavelli The Prince - principles of
  political action amoral pragmatism
• Erasmus Christian humanism synthesis of
  learning and internalized Christian morality
  Praise of Folly - social critique of
  corruption in society and the church

19
Music in the 15th Century
See text, Pages 307, 308 and discussion of
musical selections in class )