Renaissance Introduction:
What is meant by the term ‘Renaissance’?
The literal term renaissance means “rebirth”, which is exactly what happen to society in Europe during this time
Humanism Reading:
2. Describe the term secular humanism.
Secular humanism is the focus on the progress of man kind and what we like to do instead of on god’s needs. (Putting human value before religion)
3. What was the hieratic scale and how was it used during the Middle Ages?
The hieratic scale is the size of figures in art. Important figures, like saints and heavenly figures were made larger, were less important figures were made smaller and insignificant.
4. How was the natural landscape brought into Renaissance art?
The natural landscape in renaissance art was used a background for paintings and almost all figures would stand on the same ground, unlike medieval art where saints and holy figures would stand upon a golden plain, apart from the regular people.
5. How was mathematics introduced to art?
During the renaissance, mathematics was introduced into art which allowed artists to create convincing 3D looking objects like furniture and buildings, which made paintings look more realistic and overall nicer.
Printing Press Questions:
Who invented the Printing Press?
Johannes Gutenberg
2. Explain in 3 -5 sentences why Movable type was so revolutionary for Europe?
Movable type is where you can arrange letter stamps onto a board which allows you to print a book/transcript over and over. It was revolutionary because it stopped many errors that where made when books were copied and was a lot quicker and cheaper to use then getting a scribe to write a copy of a book. This allowed the public to access knowledge and allowed everyone to become educated to some degree.
3. Besides religious text, what was most literature about? Why was this a focus?
A lot of literature was about travel. This was because many wanted to travel, but couldn’t, so they read about it instead.
4. Should Gutenberg get all the credit for this invention? Why or Why not?
No, because China had already created an invention like his, it just wasn’t used for mass production.
Bonus Question – Explain the significance of the Printing Press to 2017.
The printing press has been extremely important in 2016/2017 mainly because of the election. Being one of the biggest (and most controversial) events of the past 8 years, it is and was important that the public knows about it so that they could vote and understand what is happening in one of the most important and powerful countries in the world.
Martin Luther Paragraph:
Martin Luther had a huge influence on the Catholic Church, as well as all of Renaissance Europe, but what pushed him to become so revolutionary? First of all, when he was a young boy, an important influence on him was his father. He pushed him to work incredibly hard at school and would punish him when he failed, which made Martin Luther develop a fear of failing. This, along with his already determined personality, would eventually lead to his great achievements. Another factor that pushed Martin Luther to become revolutionary was his fear of never meeting gods expectations. He developed this fear after 3 of his friends died from the dreaded Black Death and when he was nearly struck down in a lightning storm (which he believed was caused by god who was angry at his sins). This caused his amazing religious devotion, for he believed he would go to hell unless he could redeem himself. One of the most important influences on him though was his time of realization. This was the time when Martin Luther King came to understand that god will give you the gift of going to heaven with or without the church’s support. This made him also realize that the church was taking lots of money from the faithful for their personal gain, without giving them anything in return. This was what ended up separating him from the Catholic Church and eventually leading him to create his own branch of Christianity called protestantism
Renaissance Artist Notes:
6. Michelangelo – was a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet
-his most famous works of art were vandalized
-famous paintings include the creation of Adam and the sisteen chapel
7. Donatello – was a sculptor
-was buried in the basilica of San Lorenzo
8. Raphael – was a painter and architect
-born in Italy
-asked to design architecture in the 1500’s which included funeral chapels and other buildings
-he created the madonna and the school of Athens paintings
9. Filipino Brunelleschi – was an architect – he designed the Santa Maria del fiore
10. Leonardo – painter, inventer, artist, sculpture, mathematician
-left many of his paintings unfinished and destroyed lots of his work
-famous piece = Mona Lisa
Reasons that Italian city states flourished:
Geography – Due to Italy being to closest Place in Europe to Northern Africa and other places along the Mediterranean Sea, trading was a lot quicker and cheaper than in other places in Europe
Map of Europe
2. Climate – Weather in Italy is more clam then other places in Europe (north of the alps). This allowed trade to continue through winter and for crops to be grown for longer amounts of time.
Olives: common Italian crop
3. Leadership – Unlike many other pre-modern European countries, Italy was made up of separate city states, instead of one big country ruled by a monarchy. This allowed each state to control their own affairs and economies and many states (like Venice, Milan, Florence, and Genoa) became rich because of this.
A wealthy Italian bank
4. Social organization – Italy was not as involved with feudalism as the rest of Europe, allowing many wealthy people to move there, make money, and make Italy more powerful and wealthy.
Italy social structure vs feudalism
A patron of the Arts today: The Gordon Smith Gallery
Revolutionaries Paragraph:
Throughout history, there have always been people who are not satisfied with what is and take action to change it, sometimes leading to advancements that shape the course of history. Some familiar names of people who have created great change include Albert Einstein, Galileo, and Isaac Newton, but even though they have become some of the most revolutionary people in history, it wasn’t easy for them to get there. There were always people that opposed them, creating tension and halting their advancements, but why is that? I would say, one of the main reasons is because of fear of change. When people are happy with what is, they will avoid new ideas or things they do not understand, sometimes even going to extreme measures to keep their world the way it is. An example of the was Joan of Arc, who helped France greatly through the hundred year war. She was considered a hero, but many disliked her for they believed a woman could not fight in battle. Because of this, they ended up calling her a witch to get her burned at the stake, instead of embracing the new.
Another thing that revolutionaries have that creates tension, and has been the spark of many wars and rebellions, is a difference in beliefs. This can include things like religion, ethics, social equality rights, and other controversial topics that people feel strongly about. An example of this is Martian Luther who separated from the Roman Catholic Church after coming to the conclusion that the gift of being allowed into heaven was a right to everyone, and did not need to be bought through money or labour. This outraged many religious officials (such as the pope) because they profited off those who believed they needed to pay in order to reach eternal life. This also brings up another reason why revolutionaries create tension, and that is because they typically go against authority figures. Especially in times like the renaissance, the people in power (like the king or pope) had complete control over everyone and everything, meaning any massive change or new idea that wasn’t coming from them could be seen as a threat to their ability as a leader. This has ended up causing rebellions from people coming to realize that those in control are not always right, along with the authority figures attacking or punishing those who opposed them. An example of this was Galileo, an astronomer who made countless important discoveries such as the existence of four of Jupiter’s moons and confirmed that the earth rotates around the sun. This angered the pope for it was common religious belief that everything circled around the earth and he felt that Galileo was trying to attack him and the church by saying they were wrong. This lead to Galileo being put on trial and forced to deny all of his findings.