Humanism and Renaissance
WHAT IS THE RENAISSANCE?
Around 1350, artists and thinkers in Italy became very interested in the art, architecture and learning of ancient Greece and Rome.
They began to try out new ideas based on what they had learned. This movement is known as the Renaissance, which means “rebirth�.
Princes, popes and merchants paid money to artists, architects and writers and encouraged them to create works of art.
Rich people who supported artists were known as patrons (“mecenas� in Spanish).
The most powerfult patrons of the Renaissance were the Medici, a family of bankers from Florence.
Dome
Architects designed buildings with pillars, rounded arches and domes. This style was copied from Greeks and Roman architecture (Classical Art).
Pillars
Round arches
One of the first examples of classical style was the dome of Florence Cathedral, designed by the architect Brunelleschi
Inspired by Greek and Roman art, painters tried to make their pictures look as lifelike as possible.
They used perspective to give their pictures a feeling of depth.
Before the Renaissance, artists in Europe painted mainly religious pictures. Now, as well as religious pictures, they painted portraits, landscapes, recent events and scenes from Greek and Roman myths.
Finally, sculptors copied Greek and Roman statues. The statues of the Renaissance looked lifelike, strong and graceful.
WHAT IS THE HUMANISM?
Studying Greek and Roman works, people realized how much humans could achieve and started a new belief in human ability.
Children from rich families studied the writings of the Greeks and the Romans, as well as music, art and foreign languages.
During the Renaissance, inventors worked on new ideas for clocks, weapons, telescopes, wรกter pumps and other machines.
Leonardo da Vinci was a perfect example of a Renaissance man. He was an artista, an inventor, an architect and a musician.
He designed this flying machine.
Many people in Europe worked as alchemists.
They tried to turn ordinary metal into gold and create magic potions.
Thinkers discussed about how countries should be run. Niccolò Machiavelli wrote a book called “The Prince”, which said that a ruler should always do waht was best for his kingdom, even if it meant being cruel and ruthless.
In the 1450’s, a German named Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press.
The printing press printed books a page at a time. They were set up all over Europe. Books were produced wuickly and cheaply and this helped to spread new ideas.