The Renaissance

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The Renaissance

• MSHS Humanities
• Kathie J.R. Bettler

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The Renaissance

• OUT OF THE SICK GOTHIC NIGHT OUR EYES ARE OPENED
  TO THE GLORIOUS TOUCH OF THE SUN
• François Rabelais

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Early Renaissance

• In the 19th century Jacob Burckhardt
• defined the Renaissance
• as a rebirth of the classical ideal
• (from Greece and Rome).
• Many 20th century philosophers believe,
• however, that there was more of a shift
• in cultural and educational emphasis
• than a new discovery of the past.

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• The Renaissance began in Italy (New Athens)
• in the 1400s.
• The fine or liberal arts were redefined as art
• (they were crafts in the Middle Ages).
• Petrarch is considered the Father of Humanism
  because of his love for learning.

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• The medieval view of life as a vale of tears,
• with no purpose other than preparing
• for salvation and the afterlife,
• gave way to what was viewed
• as a more liberating ideal
• of people playing important roles
• in this world.
• Emphasis was placed on the individual
• and on individual achievement.

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• The rising middle class
• sought more material comforts,
• thus there developed a new economic system
• capitalism.
• Capitalism challenged Renaissance
• men and women
• to pursue their own individual goals.
• There was an explosion of economic activity
• in the trading of goods and services.

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New Discoveries

• During the Renaissance there was a thirst
• for new discovery of all kinds
• scientific, technological, geographical.
• 1. crank-and-connecting rod system
• 2. flying machine (da Vinci)
• 3. printing press
• 4. Diaz sailed down the coast of Africa
• 5. Columbus sailed to the West Indies

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Architecture

• In the early 14th century a new style of art
  arose among artists in Florence, Italy.
• This style sought to capture the forms and ideas
• of the ancient Greeks and Romans,
• and it was a style dedicated to human principles
• and potentials rather than to ecclesiastical
  ones.
• 1. Roman ruins were measured and proportions were
  copied.
• 2. Decorative detail was popular
• 3. External appearances were no longer ruled by
  structural concerns and took on a life of their
  own.

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Dance

• Theatre dance came out of the courts
• of Northern Italy,
• and formal dances were a part
• of elaborate court entertainments.
• The search for perfection,
• for individual expression, dignity, and grace,
• created a vocabulary for dance steps
• and choreography of patterns.

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High Renaissance

• Although the High Renaissance is considered
• to last from 1495 until 1527,
• it actually began with an artist
• who was much ahead of his time
• Leonardo da Vinci.

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• By 1500 the courts of the Italian princes
• had become the centers
• of cultural activity and patronage.
• The wealth of the popes,
• and their desire to rebuild Rome
• on a grand scale,
• made that city a center of patronage as well.
• Music became a major art form.
• Ancient Roman architectural and sculptural style
  was revived.

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• High Renaissance art sought a universal ideal
• with impressive themes and styles.
• The artists believed
• that the world of nature
• possesssed perfect order,
• and sought to create beauty
• through harmonious proportions.

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Visual Arts

• The work of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
• has an otherwordly, dreamlike quality,
• which he achieved
• by blending light and shadow,
• in a technique called sfumato.
• His figures hover between reality and illusion,
• with only the highlighted portions emerging.

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Madonna of the Rocks
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The Last Supper
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Mona Lisa
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Michelangelo
Perhaps the dominant figure of the High
Renaissance was Michelangelo. He was not
interested in science, like Leonardo, only in
the human form. He was also a man of great
religious faith. He was a sculptor, painter,
architect, and poet. His most famous work is
the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which he painted
under the patronage of Pope Julius II.
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The Creation of Adam
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Sculpture

• Michelangelo,
• unlike earlier Renaissance artists,
• did not follow pre-established rules.
• He believed that measurement and proportion
• should be kept
• in the eyes
• of the artist.

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David
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Pietà
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Theatre

• Commedia dellarte
• (Comedy of professional artists)
• began in Italy in the 15th century,
• and maintained its popularity
• through to the 18th century.
• The performances were built around situations
  such as
• jealousy, adultery, love, and old age, and
• can be traced to the earlier Roman comedies
• of Plautus and Terence.
• The plots often satirized local events,
• and used slapstick humor and lazzi
• (rehearsed stage business).

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Commedia dellarte

• Commedia dellarte is identified by four
  characteristics
• Improvisationactors created the play from a plot
  outline, called a scenario.
• Stock characterscharacters who were easily
  recognizable by their costumes and traits.
• Mime, pantomime, and acrobatics were used by
  masked actors for comic effect.
• Actors traveled in companies.

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Stock Characters

• Scaramoucheclever servant
• Brighellabully
• Pantalonemiddle-aged wealthy father or
  husband who sought to keep the young lovers
  apart.
• Dottoreelderly scholar
• who was not really smart
• Capitanoboastful coward
• Columbinawitty servant girl

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The Renaissance Stage

• During the High Renaissance,
• painted sets with perspective were created.
• The proscenium arch
• created a picture frame window,
• so that the audience watched the action
• as if through a fourth wall.

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Music

• Renaissance composers sought
• to enhance the meaning and emotion
• of the written music,
• and created what is called word painting.
• If, for example, a text described a descent,
• the music might use a descending melody line.
• Despite the increased sense of emotion,
• Renaissance music remained restrained and
• balanced, avoiding extreme contrasts
• in dynamics, tone color, or rhythm.

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Vocal Music

• During the Renaissance,
• vocal music was polyphonic,
• which means two or more independent melodies
• played at the same time.
• Another word for polyphonic music
• is counterpoint.
• In secular music, the madrigal
• (a setting of lyric poetry for 4 or 5 voices)
• was a popular form.

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Instrumental Music

• During the Renaissance,
• Instrumental music developed an independence
• from vocal music.
• Music began to be written
• Expressly for instruments,
• Like the harpsichord.
• Much instrumental music
• was written for dance.

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The Renaissance and Reformation in Northern Europe

• The Reformation in Northern Europe took place
• at the same time as the Renaissance
• in Southern Europe.
• It refers to economic, political,
• and religious conflicts.
• This reformation took place as a result of
  centuries
• of resentment of papal authority.
• It was not an attempt to start a new branch of
  Christianity,
• but rather it was a sincere attempt to reform
• what were perceived as serious problems
• in the Roman Catholic Church.

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• Economically,
• the Church had amassed huge tax-free wealth
  while the secular sector was heavily taxed.
• Politically,
• there was resentment
• of a central ecclesiastical authority.
• Religiously,
• there were arguments
• against Church dogma.

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Christian Humanism

• A seeking of a return to the simple good news
• of the Gospel for moral living and for peace.
• The Christian Humanists regarded
• the external aspects of worship,
• such as festivals, sacraments, music, and
  imagery,
• as less important than inner belief.
• The humanists believed in fundamental goodness
• of the human race
• and were positive about human development.

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Dance

• European indoor court entertainments of the early
  and mid-sixteenth century often took the form of
  lavish court ballets-interludes between banquet
  courses.
• Courtly dancing became professional and highly
  skilled with the dancers performing both on a
  raised stage and in the middle of the banquet
  halls (with their wealthy patrons).
• Formal ballet came of age as an art form under
  the patronage of Catherine de Medici (1519-1589)
  of France.

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Drama

• The greatest literary genius of the late
  Renaissance
• was William Shakespeare.
• He represents the Elizabethan love of drama,
• and the theatres of London were patronized
• by lords and commoners alike.
• These patrons sought and found,
• usually in the same play,
• action, spectacle, comedy, character, and
• intellectual stimulation
• deeply reflective of the human condition.

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Shakespeare

• With true renaissance breadth,
• Shakespeare went back into history and far
  beyond,
• to the fantasy world of The Tempest.
• His plays fall into 3 genres
• comedies (The Taming of the Shrew),
• tragedies (Hamlet, Prince of Denmark),
• and histories (Henry V).

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Shakespeares Appeal

• Like most playwrights of his time,
• Shakespeare wrote for a specific,
• professional company
• and needed to keep this company alive
• by producing new plays each season.
• His plays have a universal appeal
• because of his understanding
• of human motivation and character,
• and his ability to probe deeply into human
  emotion.
• As his contemporary Ben Jonson said,
• he was not of an age, but for all time.

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The End
Can you believe it?