The Renaissance Period

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The Renaissance Period

• 1400- 1600

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The Renaissance

• Renaissance means Rebirth
• Rebirth of interest of the ancient Greek and
  Roman cultures
• originated in Italy
• Religion did not disappear.. people still
  believed in God
• A new desire to exploration the value, meaning,
  reality and beauty of the world, not just
  knowledge of the afterlife

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• Renaissance
• In the Medieval period, the church was the
  center of existence.
• During the Renaissance, people began to discover
  the world around them and realize that they were
  an important part of that world. (Humanism is
  back!)

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The Renaissance

• Important event - The Reformation
• Emergence of the Protestant religion and its
  separation from the Roman Catholic Church
• Martin Luther - German monk who argued that the
  Bible was the sole source of religious authority
  (not the Pope)
• Church services and religious books done in the
  vernacular of the area, not just Latin

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The Renaissance

• Important invention Printing Press
• Invented by Johannes Gutenburg in 1436
• books no longer were printed by hand (monks)
• more books were made (more production cheaper
  cost)
• people wanted to learn how to read since books
  were cheaper

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The REnaissance

• was a
• REbirth
• Of
• REason

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Renaissance Theatre

• Renaissance writers discovered the writings of
  Greek philosophers and playwrights
• Started following Aristotles ideas about drama
  (Poetics essay)
• Basic structure of drama plot outline of
  exposition, rising action, climax, falling
  action, resolution (drama roller coaster)

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Renaissance Theatre

• Commedia dellarte
• Theatrical touring group
• Use of stock characters - characters that were
  instantly recognized by the audience (by costume,
  mask, face paint or prop)
• Stock characters are not developed as far as
  motivation and background (ex the dumb blonde)
• Improvisational dialogue (similar to whose Line
  is it Anyway?) that followed a basic comical,
  funny plot outline
• Group of 10 people (7 males and 3 females)

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Renaissance Theatre

• Commedia dellarte continued
• Basic plot outlines posted backstage before each
  performance
• Most characters had a mask as part of their
  costume (half masks that might exaggerate the
  eyes and nose for comic effect, but allowed the
  actor to talk ad move freely)

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Renaissance Theatre

• Arlecchino/Harlequin - most popular stock
  character
• Diamond shaped design on costume
• Always carried a slapstick (hand prop)
• "slapstick comedy," named after this prop 
• A slapstick is made out of two thin strips of
  wood separated at the handle by a half an inch or
  so.  When the slapstick hits an object, the two
  strips of wood slap against each other  to make a
  loud sound, without hurting the person being hit.

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Renaissance Theatre

• The Renaissance started in Italy and eventually
  moved to Europe
• Elizabethan Theatre named after Queen Elizabeth
  (ruled 1558 - 1603)
• Most famous playwright was William Shakespeare
  (1564 - 1616)

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Renaissance Theatre

• The first theatres for Elizabethan drama were
  Inn-yards and Great Halls.

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Renaissance Theatre

• Inn-yard Theatre
• Audiences
• watched
• from tiers
• surrounding
• the stage
• area

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Renaissance Theatre

• Elizabethan drama (late Renaissance)
• Complex characters struggling with feelings of
  love, hate, jealousy, revenge, lust for power
  (not stock characters)
• As popular as rock concerts today (all social
  classes attended)

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Renaissance Theatre

• Elizabethan Theatre
• Performances were announced by hoisting a silk
  flag in front of the theatre
• Audiences paid one penny for general admission
• Each additional penny bought a better seat
• Those who paid a penny were called groundlings
  (b/c they had to stand on the dirt in front of
  the stage)

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Renaissance Theatre

• Elizabethan Theatre
• Audiences interacted with actors
• Threw fruit when displeased with performance
• All male actors
• Minimal sets and scenery
• Emphasis on the language and poetry

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Renaissance Theatre

• Elizabethan Theatre
• Comedy - happy ending and tells the story of a
  likable characters rise to fortune
• Tragedy - downfall of a basically good character
• Histories - present lives of famous Kings and
  events in English history
• The Globe Theatre was the most famous theatre
  house

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Renaissance Theatre

• Elizabethan Drama
• Shakespeare is most famous playwright
• He was not only a playwright, but also an actor
  in the company known as The Lord Chamberlains
  Men
• Shakespeare wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets
• Romeo and Juliet.Hamlet.Julius Caesar

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Renaissance Theatre

• Compare and contrast Greek theatre with both
  Commedia Dellarte and Elizabethan drama

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Renaissance Dance

• Dancing was a favorite pastime in the
  Renaissance.
• Dancing was an elegant form of exercise and an
  expected social skill for the noble.

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Renaissance Dance

• 2 types of social dances in the Renaissance.
• simple dances that were performed by an unlimited
  number of people. These dances were usually
  performed in circles or lines. (participatory
  dances)
• complex dances that required a dancing master and
  practice. These complex dances were usually
  performed for an audience. (performance dances)

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Renaissance Dance

• Dance masters wrote books on dancing
• Dancing in the Renaissance also brought about
  some new instrumental music written for dancing

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Renaissance Dance

• Dance Costumes
• Big, Heavy clothing limited the upper body
  movement, both in men and women.
• Women wore corsets at this time, and the men's
  clothing had tight lacing on the upper body.

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Renaissance Dance

• Court dance was invented by rulers and kings
• Dance was considered a display of power
• European princes competed with each other to have
  the most elaborate court parties and dances

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Renaissance Dance

• Court dancers wore elaborately ornate (fancy)
  costumes
• Rehearsal was required
• Participants were introduced and arranged based
  on their importance
• Movements of French dance had a sense of
  politeness and a reverence for the king (social
  etiquette)

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Renaissance Dance

• Catherine de Medici married the king of France,
  Henry II
• She was Italian, and the French did not like her
  too much
• She brought with her a dance master
• He created the Ballet Comique de la Reine (The
  Queens Comic Ballet)
• In this production, there were large sets, songs,
  poetry and prose all performed by nobles of the
  court
• This was the beginning of French ballet

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Renaissance Music

• The printing press allowed music to be printed
  quickly and cheaper
• Secular music (non-religious music) was becoming
  more popular during this time. 
• Rise in instrumental music (dancing music)
• (Remember there were only monks singing church
  songs without instruments for most of the Middle
  Ages)

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Renaissance Music

• A cappella- singing without instruments 
• Vocal music was still more important than
  instrumental music
• Madrigals were popular during the Renaissance 
• A madrigal is secular music. They were usually
  love songs (happy and sad)

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Renaissance Music

• Polyphonic music is when two or more voices of
  equal importance are heard at the same time. 
• The texture of most Renaissance music was
  polyphonic.

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Renaissance Music

• Catholic church services had been sung in Latin
  by a choir of monks.
• The music for Protestant services was designed
  for the congregation to sing
• This music was much simpler and the words were
  written in the language of the people (vernacular)

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Renaissance Music

• Counterpoint - the art of combining two
  simultaneous musical lines
• Palestrina - composer known for his use of
  counterpoint and polyphony
• was one the Renaissance period's most important
  composers. 
• He was Italian.  
• He wrote some madrigals, but mostly religious
  works

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• Renaissance Art
• Artists started studying nature and surviving
  classical works of art in order to make their own
  art more realistic.
• Development of perspective
• Linear perspective creates the illusion of
  depth on a flat surface by slanting lines
  (diagonal lines instead of horizontal)
• Aerial perspective use of duller, bluer hues
  for distant objects

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Perspective

• First use of linear perspective was The Trinity
• By Masaccio in 1427
• Viewers were shocked at the realism

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Renaissance Art

• Artists showed depth and mass by using value
  (lightness and darkness). Darker hues were used
  to show shadows.
• Chiaroscuro (light/dark) the use of shades and
  tints to suggest volume

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Renaissance Art

• Medieval artist Giotto started changing the art
  world with his emotional paintings.
• Renaissance artists starting building on Giottos
  ideas

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Renaissance Art

• Renaissance artists started using landscapes or
  architecture to give their work a more realistic
  setting.
• Development of oil paints (instead of egg
  tempera). This allowed artists to work at a
  slower pace b/c oil paint dried slower
• Artist could now include more details in their
  paintings.

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Renaissance Artists

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Raphael Leonardo Michelangelo Donatello

If you can remember their names, then you can
name famous artists from the Renaissance - (we
will only discuss 2 of these)
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Renaissance Art

• Leonardo da Vinci
• Known as a Renaissance Man (knowledgeable and
  talented in numerous subjects)
• 120 notebooks filled with drawings from his study
  of subjects ranging from anatomy to nature to
  military fortifications
• Leonardo wrote backwards in these notebooks
  (right to left)
• He dissected cadavers (dead bodies and yes this
  was illegal). This enabled him to learn how arms
  and legs bend and how muscles shift as the body
  moves

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Renaissance Art

• Leonardo left many projects unfinished
• He was always experimenting with new ideas
• One of his most famous works was The Mona Lisa.
  He considered this portrait unfinished even after
  working on it for 16 years!!
• Sfumato (smoky) shading technique in which
  outlines are slightly blurred. This was
  Leonardos variation on the chiaroscuro technique
  He described sfumato as without lines or
  borders, in the manner of smoke or beyond the
  focus plane

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Renaissance Art
Critics and art historians have argued over
whether or not the Mona Lisa is smiling. This
debate is due to the use of sfumato around her
mouth, making it a mystery as to whether the
shadows are a result of a smile or if the smile
is a result of the shadows. podcast
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Geometrical Arrangement of Figures
The triangle was a very popular arrangement
formula during the Renaissance
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Leonardo da Vinci
The Virgin of the Rocks Notice the triangles
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The Last Supper was painted in the Ddining room
of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in
Milan He painted a dining scene in the monks
dining room Is this also a piece of
music? Conspiracy?
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Renaissance Art

• Michelangelo - another multi-talented Renaissance
  artist
• He considered himself a sculptor instead of a
  painter
• He felt as if he was freeing the figures that
  were trapped inside the block of marble

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• The Pieta- (any work showing Mary mourning over
  the body of Christ)

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Renaissance Art

• Sistine Chapel ceiling - at first he protested at
  doing this because ceiling paintings were
  considered less important than wall paintings
• Built a high scaffold stretching the length of
  the chapel
• He bent over backwards and laid on his back to
  paint the wet plaster applied to the ceiling
• He divided the ceiling into 9 main sections and
  in these he painted the story of humanity from
  the creation to the flood
• Took him over 4 years

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• David
• Michelangelo
• 1504
• Marble sculpture
• Notice how large his hands are David killed the
  giant with a slingshot using his hands

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The School of Athens Raphael
One point perspective
All of the important Greek philosophers and
thinkers are included, plus Michelangelo, da
Vinci and Raphael himself
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Renaissance Architecture

• No longer used the cross shape of the older
  Medieval churches - circles were considered
  geometric perfection
• Dome shapes similar to the Roman Pantheon

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Filippo Brunelleschi

• Commissioned to build the cathedral dome.
• Used unique architectural concepts.
• He studied the ancient Pantheon in Rome.
• Used ribs for support.

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Renaissance Architecture

• In constructing their homes, wealthy people of
  the renaissance often adopted a Roman style
• The sides of their homes were built around a
  courtyard (atrium)
• Symmetrical decorations
• Columns similar to those of ancient Greece