01:510:102 Lecture 11: Chapter 11
12 May 2018
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Chapter 11 - Renaissance
Renaissance Society
Renaissance = re-birth of classical culture
• the birth of a NEW spirit of self-awareness
• sense of relief after a disastrous 14th century
• sense of self-assertion & celebration of the human spirit / potential
1. Artistic achievement
Renaissance can be dated as 1350-1550, and broken down into three distinct
phases:
• Phase 1: 1350-1400: declining population, rediscovery of classical
knowledge
• Phase 2: 1400-1500: artistic / literary achievements, population
recovered, govt. stabilized
• Phase 3: 1500-1550: Fr. / Sp. Invasions spread the Renaissance to all
of Europe
Environment:
• Italian cities never totally disappeared as the had in the rest of Europe
1. Late Middle Ages Italian cities represented 25% of the population
2. By 1500 7/10 of the largest cities were Italian
3. Developed into City-States, cities function as centers of political
and ecclesiastical power
• Countryside developed around the city
• Rural Society: Landownership / sharecropping distinguished the social
structure (80% subsistence farmers)
• Urban Society: divided by occupation
1. Monopolies were standard (guilds)
• Economic change in the early Renaissance
1. Black Death
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2. Over production, aggregate demand declined, prices declined,
labor supply declined, wages increased
• standard of living increased for the poor
• wealthy consumption pattern became increasingly
conspicuous (lack of motivation for investment, heightened
sense of mortality)
• Consumption of luxuries placed a higher value on skilled
craftsmen (creativity)
Family Unit:
• Primary economic unit, as well as a grouping of relatives
1. Marriage was a political / economic transaction
• Patronage, dowry and status were primary considerations
1. Men married in their thirties (social dysfunction), women in late
teens
2. Married women lived in a constant state of pregnancy (family
interests)
• Wealthy hired help, poor experienced high mortality rates
1. Life for the poor improved (but was still fairly terrible)
2. Health increased - due to increased grain supply relative to
population and new foods
3. Starvation remained rare - died from disease before you could
starve
Renaissance Art
• Art represented a combination of individual talent and predominate
social ideals
1. Leading edge of society
2. Technical innovations - perspective & three dimensionality
• Driven by societal demands
• Civic architecture - govt.
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• Portrait painting - reflected the importance of individuals
(prestige)
1. Elite patronized the arts (investment & prestige) and the skill
craftsmen (practical) whob produced it
Renaissance Art can be broken down into three mediums: Architecture,
sculpture and painting
• Most artists worked in all three mediums
Architecture:
• Designed and built by Renaissance Artists (great buildings increased
one's fame and prestige)
Middle Ages: Gothic Architecture, pointed arches, vaulted ceilings, slender
spires, large windows, flying buttresses.
• Goal was to overwhelm the viewer with the power and might of god.
Renaissance: reincorporation of classical features
• Brunelleschi - combined gothic and classical architecture
1. Florence Cathedral
Sculpture
• Donatello: created a flowing sense of reality, especially in the robes and
clothes of his subjects
1. Judith Slaying Holofernes (1455), demonstrated perspective and
is free standing
Painting
• Massaccio: used light and shading to create perspective, increased the
display of human emotion (the human experience became the subject of
the painting)
1. The Expulsion of Adam and Eve (1425)
2. The Holy Trinity (1425)
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Renaissance = re-birth of classical culture the birth of a new spirit of self-awareness: sense of relief after a disastrous 14th century, sense of self-assertion & celebration of the human spirit / potential, artistic achievement. Renaissance can be dated as 1350-1550, and broken down into three distinct phases: phase 1: 1350-1400: declining population, rediscovery of classical knowledge, phase 2: 1400-1500: artistic / literary achievements, population recovered, govt. stabilized, phase 3: 1500-1550: fr. Invasions spread the renaissance to all of europe. Renaissance art can be broken down into three mediums: architecture, sculpture and painting: most artists worked in all three mediums. Architecture: designed and built by renaissance artists (great buildings increased one"s fame and prestige) Middle ages: gothic architecture, pointed arches, vaulted ceilings, slender spires, large windows, flying buttresses: goal was to overwhelm the viewer with the power and might of god. Renaissance: reincorporation of classical features: brunelleschi - combined gothic and classical architecture, florence cathedral.
