Art

Many of the new ideas and attitudes that marked the Renaissance times were portrayed in art. A new idea called humanism put a focus on human interests, needs, and abilities. This new idea changed how artists painted their subjects as well as the choice of subjects they painted.

Renaissance art is often divided up into two periods:

Early Renaissance (1 !!"1 #$% " Artists learned by trying to emulate classical artists focusing on symmetry and creating the perfect form. This era featured such artists as &iotto, Masaccio, and 'onatello. High Renaissance (1 #("1()(% " A rising interest in perspecti*e and space ga*e the art e*en more realism. &reat artists such as Michelangelo, +eonardo da ,inci, and Rafael flourished during this period.

Change of Subjects
-n the Middle Ages the subject of almost all .uropean art was religion, specifically /hristianity and the /atholic /hurch. Although Renaissance artists continued to paint religious paintings, they also branched out to other subjects including &reek and Roman mythology, historical subjects, and portraits of indi*iduals. They also focused on the details of e*eryday life.

0chool of Athens by Raphael featured philosophers such as 1lato, Aristotle, and 0ocrates

Realism
2ne of the big changes in art was to paint and sculpt subjects realistically. This is called realism and in*ol*es a number of techni3ues that make the subjects and background look like they would in real life. This also meant gi*ing the subjects more emotional 3ualities.

New echni!ues and Styles

Many new techni3ues were introduced during the Renaissance. These techni3ues helped to enhance the 3uality and realism of the art. "erspective " perspecti*e is drawing or painting a picture such that it looks like there are three dimensions. -t gi*es the illusion that some objects in the painting are further away than others. #alance and "roportion " 'rawing subjects such that they are the correct si4e when compared to each other. $se of %ight and &ar' " Many artists starting using light and shadows in their works to add drama, perspecti*e, and timing to their art.

/ara*aggio used light and shadow to create drama Sfumato " This was a techni3ue used by Leonardo da Vinci to add additional perspecti*e and dimension to paintings. -t was a way of blurring the lines between subjects. This techni3ue was used in +eonardo5s Mona +isa.

The Mona +isa used the sfumato techni3ue (oreshortening " Another techni3ue that added perspecti*e and depth to paintings, foreshortening is a way of shortening lines to gi*e the illusion of depth.

6ame 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Art 8uestions /omplete 1 and ). /hoose either 9 or

to complete.

1. What were the main differences between Renaissance Art and art in the Middle Ages?

2. What is realism?

3. Describe why one of the new techni !es in the Renaissance wo!ld ma"e #ict!res more realistic.

$. Draw a #ict!re !sing one of the techni !es described on the Art Reading. Which techni !e did yo! choose? %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Architecture and #uildings

&uring the Renaissance architects began to loo' bac' to the Romans and )ree's for inspiration when designing buildings* +uch of Renaissance architecture style was ta'en from Ancient Rome and )reece and then altered to fit their current lifestyle*

0t. 1eter5s :asilica is a prime e;ample of Renaissance architecture (ilippo #runelleschi :runelleschi was considered the first Renaissance architect. 0ome historians consider the start of the Renaissance to be 1 1$, when he won the commission to build the dome abo*e the cathedral of <lorence. This dome was an ambitious undertaking as it was to be the largest dome built since the 1antheon in Ancient Rome, which had been built 1(!! years earlier.

The dome designed by :runelleschi The entire dome, including the lantern on top, would take much of :runelleschi5s life to complete. The gold ball at the top weighed nearly two tons by itself. -t also took o*er four million bricks to construct the dome. :runelleschi also had to in*ent new ways of lifting hea*y objects high into the air, which would later be used by other architects. :runelleschi also designed two churches in <lorence= the church of 0an +oren4o and the church of 0anto 0pirito. These churches were built with symmetry and order. Many more churches throughout .urope would mimic this basic design in the coming years.

(eatures of Renaissance #uildings Renaissance architecture had some distinct features that were fairly common to major construction> S!uare " Many buildings were built as s3uare or rectangle symmetrical shapes. (ront " The front or ?fa@ade? of the buildings were generally symmetrical around the *ertical a;is. Columns " They used Roman type columns. Arches and &omes " Arches and domes were popular. This was again taken from Roman and &reek architecture. Ceilings " The ceilings of buildings were generally flat. 1re*iously in the Middle Ages ceilings were often left open. E,amples of Renaissance #uildings #asilica of St* "eter " This is perhaps the most famous building built during the Renaissance. 0e*eral architects worked on the design for the building including Michelangelo. -t has the largest interior of any /hristian church in the world and is considered by many to be the greatest /hristian church building. -t took 1)! years to complete from 1(!A to 1A)A. he Sistine Chapel " A chapel that is part of the official residence of the 1ope in ,atican /ity, this building is most noted for its ceilings painted by Michelangelo. "ala--o "itti " 2riginally built in 1 (B for <lorence banker +uca 1itti, this palace later became part of the Medici family empire. "ala--o (arnese " A palace from the Cigh Renaissance built in Rome for the <arnese family. El Escorial " This majestic building was built in the late 1(!!s as the palace of the Ding of 0pain. -t is laid out in orderly symmetric s3uares as shown in the picture below. 0ome belie*e that the floor plan was to mimic 0olomon5s Temple.

.l .scorial from abo*e

"a--i Chapel " This chapel is said to be a masterpiece of the simple form of the architecture of the time. -t is thought that the original design was by <ilippo :runelleschi e*en though the building wasn5t finished until nearly )! years after his death.

&ame %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Architecture and :uilding 8uestions /omplete 1 and ). /hoose either 9 or to complete.

1. Who was (ilippo #runelleschi. Ehat did he doF

2. Describe the im#ortance of one famo!s Renaissance b!ilding.

3. Describe which two b!ilding feat!res yo! thin" wo!ld ma"e the biggest im#act on changing how b!ildings loo"ed.

$. 'se feat!res described in the Architect!re reading to draw yo!r own idea for a Renaissance b!ilding.

(ood
/hat did people eat during the Renaissance. The kind of food that people ate during the Renaissance depended on where they li*ed and whether they were wealthy or a peasant. "easant (ood The a*erage person during the Renaissance was a peasant. 1easants would eat soup or mush for food just about e*ery meal. They would also generally ha*e some black bread. The soup would be made of scraps of food, usually *egetables such as carrots or eggs. Mush was made from some kind of grain like oats or wheat and then cooked in water. 0ort of like oatmeal today.

:aking bread 1easants didn5t get a lot of meat to eat. Meat was e;pensi*e and rare. 2ne reason meat was hard to get was that you needed salt to preser*e the meat. 0alt was *ery e;pensi*e during the times of the Renaissance. 1eople that li*ed near the coast would get to eat more fish. (oods of the +erchants and Nobles The wealthy people during the Renaissance ate much better than the peasants. +ike the &reeks and the Romans they studied, they enjoyed ha*ing huge feasts with lots of fancy dishes. +ike the peasants, they ate soups and broths, but these soups were spiced with e;otic spices and often sweetened with sugar. The rich also ate more meat. They would ha*e large roasts of beef, or pig. Roasts would be boiled in a large *at and then basted with juices and rose water to add fla*or. (easts At weddings, festi*als, and large feasts the food could get interesting. 2ften they would eat large game birds like swans, peacocks, or cranes. After cleaning and cooking the birds, they would often reattach the feathers for decoration. This was also a time for lots of meat to be eaten such as mutton, chicken, pheasant, *enison, rabbit, turkey, and ham. <or dessert, which was often called the ?<ruit course?, there would be fruit, jellies, nuts, and cheese. /hat did they drin'. 1eople didn5t drink water with meals like we do today. The water during this time would ha*e been dirty and not *ery good to drink, especially in larger towns. Mostly people drank wine or beer (also called ale%. Eine was the most popular in -taly and <rance, while ale was big in the northern areas like &ermany and .ngland. /hat did they eat with. Most people ate with their hands and maybe a knife. <orks did start to become popular with the wealthy during this time. Gsually a fork would just ha*e two prongs and would be used for skewering pieces of meat.

&ame %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

<ood 8uestions /omplete all 8uestions

1. What was a meal li"e for a #easant?

2. What was a meal li"e for a nobleman?

3. Describe yo!r o#inion of the Renaissance food. (o! m!st incl!de at least three sentences.

$. What did #eo#le eat with d!ring the Renaissance?

(ashion and Clothing

<ashion and clothing was an important part of Renaissance life. This was especially true for the wealthy who used fashion to display their wealth and success. A wealthy person would ha*e a *ariety of clothes made from fine materials, furs, and silks. A peasant, on the other hand, typically had only 1 or ) sets of clothing.

/hat did the men wear. Men wore colorful tights or stockings with a shirt and coat. The coat was generally tight fitting and was called a doublet. They often wore hats as well. /hat did the women wear. Eomen wore long dresses that generally had high waists and puffy slee*es and shoulders. Eealthy women would ha*e elaborate jewelry made of gold and ornamented with e;pensi*e jewels such as pearls and sapphires. 0ometimes the embroidery on their dresses used gold and sil*er thread.

1ortrait of a Renaissance woman

/hat about hair styles. Cair styles changed throughout the Renaissance. <or men, long and short hair went in and out of style. The same was true of beards. At times, short cut hair with pointy beards was popular, while at other times long hair with a clean sha*en face was popular.

:londe hair was *ery popular :londe hair was considered especially stylish with the women. They would often bleach their hair to make it blonde. Eigs or fake locks of hair made of yellow or white silk was also popular. /ere there any rules about clothes. 'epending on where you li*ed, there were all sorts of laws and rules about clothing. +aws were often passed to try and keep the ?lower? classes from wearing fancy clothes. -n some areas only nobles were allowed to wear fur. -n .ngland they had a *ery long list of laws, called sumptuary laws, that specified who could wear what types of clothes. 'epending on your station in life, you could only wear clothes of certain colors and materials. (un facts about Renaissance (ashion 1eople were not *ery clean during these times. They rarely bathed and may only wash their clothes a couple of times a year. Hewish people were often forced to wear certain clothing to identify them as Hewish. -n ,enice, Hewish men had to wear a yellow circle on their shoulder and the women a yellow scarf. A white comple;ion was desirable for women. As a result they often wore hats or *eils to keep from getting tan from the sun.

&ame %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

<ashion and /lothing 8uestions /omplete 1 and ). /hoose either 9 or to complete.

1. Why was fashion im#ortant?

2. What were some r!les abo!t Renaissance clothing?

3. Describe the differences between what men and women wore.

$. Draw below a Renaissance man and a Renaissance woman in ty#ical clothing.

Music and Dance

'uring the Renaissance one of the main forms of entertainment was music and dance. Music became a part of e*eryday life as people began to play music and sing for enjoyment. They e;perimented with new types of instruments and combinations of *oices. Music was both an art form and a form of entertainment.

Choirs 0ome of the great music of the Renaissance was sung in churches in large choirs. 2ne new style of music was to interwea*e se*eral different *ocal melodies at the same time. This type of music was called polyphony and became popular in choirs. +adrigal Another popular form of *ocal music was the madrigal. The madrigal usually had between three and si; singers, but could ha*e more. The madrigal also had se*eral melodies that were sung at the same time by different *oices. The songs were often romantic poems and sung with emotion. 0nstruments A number of new and impro*ed instruments were de*eloped during the Renaissance. 1erhaps the most famous is the *iolin which was first made in -taly in the 1(!!s. 2ther popular instruments included horns such as the early trumpet and the cornett, stringed instr!ments such as the lyre and the hurdy gurdy, and woodwind instr!ments such as the bagpipe and the recorder. Carpsichord " This instrument looks like #iano with keys, but when a key is played a string is plucked rather than hit (like with a piano%. Curdy gurdy " A stringed instrument similar to a )iolin, where melodies are played on a small keyboard and a crank"turned wheel rubs against the strings to make the tone. +ute " A stringed instrument similar to a g!itar with a round back. The strings were plucked to make the notes. Composers There are many famous composers from the Renaissance. They were able to use the printing press for their music allowing an e*en wider audience. 0ome of the most famous composers include Eilliam :yrd, Hos3uin 'es 1re4, and Thomas Tallis. The first dramatic opera was written by /laudio Monte*erdi in 1A!#.

&ancing

There were two main types of dances during the Renaissance> court dances and country dances. /ourt dances were formal dances performed by trained dancers. /ountry dances were dances where anyone could participate. .ach dance had specific steps and mo*ements. Cere are few e;amples of Renaissance dance steps> Re*erence " This was a ?greeting? step where the dancers would face each other. They would then slide the left foot back and bend both knees to bow to the other dancer. 0altarello " This is a li*ely dance step where the dancer would take three steps forward and then hop. 1a*ane " A slow ?walking? dance that ga*e the dancers a chance to show off their fancy clothes and gowns. -t was usually the first dance of the night. -talian 'ouble or 'oppio " A step where the dancers would take two elegant steps forward and then rise up on their toes. 0nteresting (acts about Renaissance +usic and &ance Most public celebrations and shows were accompanied by music and dance. -n general, instrumental music was considered less important than singing music. Two popular types of Renaissance *ocal music that preceded the madrigal were the frottola in -taly and the chanson in <rance. 0ometimes percussion instruments were added to the music including drums and tambourines. The ballet was first introduced during the -talian Renaissance courts of the nobles. -t mo*ed to <rance and became *ery popular when /atherine 'e Medici became 3ueen.

&ame %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Music and 'ance 8uestions /omplete all 8uestions

1. Why was m!sic im#ortant in the Renaissance?

2. Describe at least two m!sical instr!ments introd!ced in the Renaissance.

3. What is the difference between a co!rt dance and a co!ntry dance?

$. *ontrast Renaissance dancing to modern dancing today. List at least three differences.

&aily %ife
As .urope transformed from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, the daily life of the a*erage person changed as well. 1eople began to enjoy more lu;uries, nicer clothes, finer foods, and the arts. There were more craftsmen, artisans, and merchants who de*eloped into a middle class of people who had money, but who weren5t nobles or royalty.

2f course, many people still li*ed hard li*es full of work and toil. The daily life of the farmer and peasant was mostly work with little chance to impro*e their position. Housing The typical home for a poor farmer was a one room hut, but wealthier merchants began to li*e in large homes. These homes would ha*e been dark and cold compared to today5s homes. They didn5t ha*e running water or bathrooms either. They were probably pretty smelly. (ood Most people ate bread and stew, but the rich had all sorts of interesting and fancy meals. 1eople generally drank beer or wine with their meals, because the water would make them sick. Iou can go here to learn more about Renaissance food. Clothing /lothing was an important status symbol during the Renaissance. The wealthy dressed up in fancy clothing. Men wore a tight coat called a doublet and women wore long dresses. Iou can go here to learn more about Renaissance clothing. Religion The main religion of Renaissance .urope was /hristianity and the main church was the /atholic /hurch. Cowe*er, there were new ideas during this time including a new /hristian church called 1rotestantism and a new philosophy called Cumanism. Cumanism was important to the Renaissance because it placed *alues on human accomplishments and the study of nature. Entertainment 1eople during the Renaissance enjoyed all sorts of entertainment. They went to festi*als, sporting e*ents, and played games such as chess, chec"ers, and backgammon. 1erhaps the biggest e*ent was carni*al which took place before +ent each year. 1eople would ha*e big parties and dress up in costumes for the Mas3uerade.

Shopping and +oney 1eople would go shopping in the market place in town. 0maller towns would ha*e specific market days when the local merchants and craftsmen would bring their goods into town for sale. Money wasn5t as regulated as it is today. .ach major city had its own money and the *alue of the coins could change on a regular basis. Children &uring the Renaissance The Renaissance was a time of great change in how children were treated. At the start of the Renaissance, children were treated like small adults. They were e;pected to act, talk, and dress like adults. As soon as they could, they were e;pected to begin working. They generally weren5t hugged or coddled. Cowe*er, as people gained more free time and wealth during the Renaissance, they began to treat their children differently. Eealthy children were sometimes treated with lo*e and had free time to play and enjoy their childhood. School 0chool was primarily for the wealthy. A wealthy child, especially boys, either attended a college or had a pri*ate tutor. They mostly learned about grammar and arithmetic, but some studied philosophy, +atin, and public speaking. 0nteresting (acts about &aily %ife in the Renaissance The dance form of ballet was in*ented during the -talian Renaissance of the 1(th and 1Ath centuries. 0ome of the fa*orite foods of the nobles were large birds such as swans, peacocks, and herons. Music and dancing was a popular form of entertainment and big part of Renaissance daily life. The first )iolin was in*ented during the Renaissance by -talian Andrea Amati in 1(((. The in*ention of the #rinting #ress and the a*ailability of books had a huge impact on the daily life of people during the Renaissance.

&ame %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

'aily +ife 8uestions /omplete all 8uestions

1. Describe what life is li"e in the Renaissance.

2. *om#are and *ontrast life in the Renaissance to yo!r life.

Science and Inventions

The Renaissance came about because of a change in the way of thinking. -n an effort to learn, people began to want to understand the world around them. This study of the world and how it works was the start of a new age of science. Science and Art 0cience and art were *ery closely related during this time. &reat artists, such as +eonardo da ,inci, would study anatomy to better understand the body so they could create better paintings and sculptures. Architects such as <ilippo :runelleschi made ad*ances in math in order to design buildings. The true geniuses of the time were often both artists and scientists. They were both considered talents of the true Renaissance man. he Scientific Revolution 6ear the end of the Renaissance, the scientific re*olution began. This was a time of great strides in science and mathematics. 0cientists like <rancis :acon, &alileo, Rene 'escartes, and +saac &ewton made disco*eries that would change the world. "rinting "ress The most important in*ention of the Renaissance, and perhaps in the history of the world, was the printing press. -t was in*ented by &erman ,ohannes -!tenberg around 1 !. :y 1(!! there were printing presses throughout .urope. The printing press allowed for information to be distributed to a wide audience. This helped to spread new scientific disco*eries as well, allowing scientists to share their works and learn from each other.

Reproduction of &utenberg5s 1rinting 1ress Scientific +ethod The .cientific Method was further de*eloped during the Renaissance. &alileo used controlled e;periments and analy4ed data to pro*e, or dispro*e, his theories. The process was later refined by scientists such as <rancis :acon and -saac 6ewton. +icroscope1 elescope1Eyeglasses :oth the microscope and the telescope were in*ented during the Renaissance. This was due to impro*ements in making lenses. These impro*ed lenses also helped with making eyeglasses, which would be needed with the in*ention of the printing press and more people reading.

Cloc' The first mechanical clock was in*ented during the early Renaissance. -mpro*ements were made by &alileo who in*ented the pendulum in 1(B1. This in*ention allowed clocks to be made that were much more accurate. /arfare There were also in*entions that ad*anced warfare. This included cannons and muskets which fired metal balls using gunpowder. These new weapons signaled the end of both the Middle Age castle and the knight. 2ther 0nventions 2ther in*entions during this time include the flushing toilet, the wrench, the screwdri*er, wallpaper, and the submarine. Alchemy Alchemy was sort of like chemistry, but generally wasn5t based on a lot of scientific facts. A lot of people thought that there was a single substance from which all other substances could be made. Many hoped to find a way to make gold and become rich.

&ame %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

0cience and -nno*ation 8uestions /omplete all 8uestions

1. What started this new age of science?

2. Why was art and science so closely related?

3. Describe the im#ortance of two new in)entions in the Renaissance.