...Leon Battista Alberti’s book, The Family in Renaissance Florence, is a dialogue spanning a variety of topics including education, money, marriage and management of the household. Amidst a discussion reconciling the virtue of thrift with the necessity of dressing well, the character of Giannozzo Alberti reveals a clear distinction between the private and public spheres. Giannozzo declares that “good clothing for civic life must be clean, suitable and well made--that’s the main thing” (p.64) and that “very old clothing is only to be worn inside the house” (p. 64). There is a clear distinction of the private and public spheres; while in public, everyone must dress according to their rank and wealth. The manner and presentation of clothing acts as a visual identifier of class: “your clothes should bring you respect” (p.64). Clothing is seen as a clear measurement of honor in the public eye, yet in one’s home, old clothing may be worn. The allowance of letting old clothing be worn in the house implies that the house maintains an inherent privacy and, as such, is a place of refuge from societal customs. The ability to wear worn clothing suggests an absence of frequent visitors and guests and a respite from the constant competition of establishing one’s self in society. Giannozzo establishes a clear division between public and private life through the social acceptance of wearing different types of clothes inside and outside the house. In addition, there is a suggestion of inherent...
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...The Church was a powerful institution for the community and leaders of Renaissance Florence in numerous ways. Unifying the community in times of prosperity as well as in times of need. Respected by the people of Florence, the Church was able to use their support. Using examples from The Chronicle of Giovanni Villani, I will show how the Church was prominent in the life of the people of fourteenth century Renaissance Florence. The Church was a valuable component in bringing the community together. For example, as Giovanni Villani writes in his chronicle,“... The citizens agreed to renew their leading church, which was a rude affair and small for such a municipality.” (36). The Cathedral was important for the people of Florence. They had just...
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...Lovepreet Kaur Mr. Crowe AP European History The Renaissance-1 Textbook: pg. 338 to mid 343 16 January 2014 1. Why did the Renaissance first begin in Italy? The Renaissance first began in Italy because Italy had better resources. Anyone was able to go to Italy in search for a fresh start while bringing new ideas people never questioned. 2. Why was Florence at the heart of the Italian Renaissance? Florence was at the heart of the Italian Renaissance because it was started from Florence, and it was one of the wealthiest cities with significant power. The Medici family helped Florence become a cultural center for meetings or discussions about art. 3. What role did the Medici family play in the Renaissance Florence? The Medici family showed special interests for arts and literature, so they financed numerous art creations and get-togethers for the benefit of Florence. 4. Regarding humanism: -What are the characteristics of humanism? How is it different from medieval scholasticism? from nominalism? The characteristics of humanism include learning, anatomy, realism, reason, nature, youth, individualism, and perspective. Scholasticism was more orientated towards philosophers or theologians and it failed to offer moral guidance, however, humanism was about direct sources such as the bible or Latin/Greek classics. Nominalism is considered to believe that abstract or general terms are real, while humanism prefers human views. -Why is Petrarch considered...
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...1450, Florence was known as the “birthplace of the Renaissance” due to its prosperous culture, art, architecture, and wealth. First originating as a western European territory and later an independent city-state, it grew to be one of the largest maritime trade centers during the 10th Century. Due to the its autonomy as a chartered city, Florence experienced a dramatic increase in wealth and commercial activities, coupled with economic reforms. Despite this, the focus on arts and architecture persisted throughout much of Florence’s history. Along the times of the Renaissance era, Florence developed into a wealthy city due to many factors. Fortunes were made through the banking and finances industry, and Florence became the primary banking center of Italy. The Medici family, who ruled as the dominant family in Florence beginning in the 14th century, ran a large bank that expanded to other major cities in Europe. They loaned money and operated other commercial activities as well. Merchants and textile industries also thrived in Florence. Unfinished inferior wool was purchased from England, Iberia, and northern cities, where it was then dyed and finished by Florentine textile workers who spun it into high quality...
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...Banking Built Florence The remnants of the past are still shown in the world today, many of them left unchanged. Medieval Guilds were one of the first attempts at grouping skilled laborers to accomplish a task. One of the most important guilds was the Banking Guild in Florence, Italy, which is largely responsible for the what the city and much of Europe is today. This guild ushered in a new type of architecture that was used for structures, funded famous and influential artists and scientists, and created a monetary system that was used throughout Europe. For these reasons the banking guild in Florence is largely believed to be one of the main reasons that contributed to the start of the Renaissance era. One of the most visual changes in Florence...
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...The Duomo was a structure that was built on top of a cathedral in Florence, Italy. Many consider Florence Italy to be the heart of the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a period in history lasting from 1350 to 1600. In this period of history, many art, medicine, astronomy, and engineering techniques were developed. During this period of time called the Renaissance, there was a big advance in the architecture field especially. The Santa Maria Del Fiore church was envisioned to be one of the greatest churches ever. The church was almost completed, just the dome was left to be built. Filippo Brunelleschi who was a renaissance man, trained as a goldsmith but an amatuer at building structures, was going to build the world’s biggest dome for...
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...The Renaissance was a time of rebirth and changes in the lives of many people and many people’s views on how humanity functioned. After the calamitous 14th Century in which many people were murdered through wars, or die naturally by plague, the survivors started to look at the world in a whole new way. The philosophies of many people had changed after such near death experiences and the Renaissance blossomed from the Renaissance. The Medici family were catalyst to the Renaissance as the were patrons of the arts. Art was a crucial part of the renaissance as this changed the method in which people viewed life greatly and so created many new methods in portraying the mind of the artist. Two such great sculptors of the Renaissance were Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi and Michelangelo did Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. Michelanglo and David are most famous for creating the sculptures of David from the High and Low Renaissance respectively. The sculptures’ of Donatello and Michelangelo are both drastically different, evidenced by the influences of their respective Patrons, the time period that the sculptures depicted and the symbolism behind each sculpture. The influences of the two sculptures are important to find out how the final result of each Sculpture was. Donatello’s David was commissioned by the Medici family, at the time it was thought out of the ordinary for a member or a group of government to commission a piece of art. The fact that the Medici commissioned this artwork...
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...the Greeks and Romans were lost during this time. Part of the Middle Ages is actually called the Dark Ages because so much of what was learned earlier was lost. The Renaissance was a time of coming out of the dark. It was a rebirth of education, science, art, literature, music, and a better life style for people in general.A big part of the Renaissance was a cultural movement called humanism . Humanism was a philosophy that all people should strive to be educated and learned in the classical arts, literature, and science. It looked for and human emotion in art. It also said that it was okay for people to pursue comfort, riches, and beauty. The Renaissance started in Florence, Italy and spread to other city-states in Italy. Part of the reason it began in Italy was because of the history of Rome and the Roman Empire. Another reason it began in Italy was because Italy had become...
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...The studies of the humanists during the Renaissance gave artists of the times the freedom and the wisdom the express themselves with more intellect, clarity, personality and emotional understanding than had ever been seen before. Towards the middle of the 14th Century a new way of thinking was beginning to emerge and take a hold on society, A way which let people express themselves with a clarity unseen Since the fall of the Roman Empire and the dark days of the Middle Ages, a great time of reform and education was on the brink of exploding onto the scene. This was the beginning of what we now know as the Renaissance the ‘Rebirth’ and the new way of thinking would later be referred to as Humanism. The Renaissance was one of the great intellectual ages of European culture at its height during the 15th and 16th century there were many amazing new developments amongst many areas including painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, education medicine science including many more of mans intellectual and educated pursuits, the main center of this revolution was classical Italy although later spreading throughout Europe to infiltrate all facets of European culture The Renaissance saw creation of different attitudes towards life and different ways of thinking. After spending hundreds of years in the depths of the Middle ages a time when human progress and achievement slowed to a trickle, Western Civilization blurred and there was a great period of cultural decline, society...
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...should focus on one piece of art to thoroughly gain the desired skill sets. Imitation eventually begets emulation through a natural inculcation of the expert's skills. Emulating the work of an accomplished artist provides a young artist with a base to develop individual skills. Masaccio (Tommaso Guidi) introduced linear perspective through The Holy Trinity on Tempera as a primary medium. Donatello sculpted Mary Magdalene on stone providing a reference that exemplified intricate detailing in art. Andrea Mantegna inspired the importance of detail to paintings through the altarpiece for the San Zeno in Verona using oil and panel. Andrea Brunelleschi studied Greco-Roman ruins to induce the Italian Renaissance through his work on The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Flore in Florence. Fra Angelico painted the Annunciation of Cortona in tempera on panel, a reference point for future frescos. Andrea del Verrocchio made the Bartolomeo Colleoni, regarded among the best...
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...Middle Ages and Renaissance Art Western Governor’s University It is interesting how two different artistic periods can compare to each other. When comparing Middle Age art to art of the Renaissance, I find a vast transformation of ideas and mentality between the two eras. The Middle Ages, also called the Medieval period, lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. Christianity, religion and the church played an important role in life in the Middle Ages. Life seemed difficult in the Middle Ages. A vast majority of the population could read or write. The population’s hope was declining and this lead to a strong belief that the next life in heaven would be better than the current life that they were in. The basic government and society in Europe during the middle ages was based around the feudal system. (Eco, U. (1986). Because Christianity played an important role during the Middle Ages, early Christian art icons were popular such as images of Christ, the Virgin Mary or saints. Also popular were illuminated manuscripts that were of a religious nature. Because of the radiant glow created by the gold, silver, and other colors that were used, these handwritten and decorated or painted texts were called illuminations. These were still being created in the Middle Ages. Architecture of the Middle Ages also focused on a Christianity theme. Two...
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...The renaissance is one the most notable and one the most famous event or era to have ever taken place in history. It represented the “re birth movement” in Europe. A cultural movement that took place in the 14th century starting from Italy and then spreading out to the rest of Europe. The renaissance has enriched history with many things such as revolution, knowledge and has of course, its richness in art. There were a lot of objects, art pieces left from the renaissance that had they’re meaning and symbolism to everything that was happening in that time. Personally, the renaissance is my favorite piece of history that I have always enjoyed reading and researching about. Therefore I Have chosen 5 objects from the renaissance period that caught my eyes, and will further discuss them. The first Object I have chosen is “David” that was created by the great artist Michelangelo. It is a masterpiece of the renaissance sculpture that was created between 1501 and 1504. The statute is a 5.17 meter of a nude male standing, made out of marble. The nude man standing represents David, who was a biblical hero, a favored subject in the art of Florence. Since the statue was of a hero, it was used to symbolize the defense of civil liberties that were embodied in the republic of Florence, which was a city-state that was constantly threatened by surrounded more powerful states and the Medici family. The eyes on David’s face were believed to be positioned in a manner that he is overlooking to...
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...the enemy while Donatello depicted David as a symbol what can be accomplished by even the smallest entity. His character and story have been interpreted and re-interpreted by many artists in different mediums. Donatello was was born in Florence in 1386. He was an early Renaissance artist who lived at the end of the Dark Ages. He is known as the artist whose work officially began the Italian Renaissance (“David”). Donatello was first introduced to Roman sculpture when he visited Rome with his master, Brunelleschi (“Donatello”). It was there that he carefully studied classical Roman sculptures. The studies he preformed in Rome greatly influenced him the rest of his life. He is known for making the first sculptures with classical influence after the Dark Ages. The influence of his Roman studies is shown in the natural flow of the statue, something which is not seen in any art of the Dark Ages. Michelangelo was born to a middle class banking family on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Italy. When he was still a young man, his mother become deathly ill and was sent to live with stone cutters where he later stated, “"With my wet-nurse's milk, I sucked in the hammer and chisels I use for my statues." (“Michelangelo”). He was a famous late Renaissance sculptor and painter. He originally was apprenticed to a painter but soon found himself studying sculpture in the famous Medici gardens...
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...Europe during the turn of the 14th century. The Renaissance as we call this movement changed the society and culture of Europe. The replacement of medieval ideas with the birth of modern principles changed the whole landscape of Europe and even the world as these ideas would gradually spread to other parts of the globe. It was particularly the Italian Renaissance which instigated these changes. It was when handful of humanists sparked off of what would be the one of the most remarkable revolutions. The Catholic Church started to shift away from being the center of the universe and began to be replaced by ideals such as secularism and individualism; a concept unheard of over the last 1000 years. This Renaissance movement were fueled by the people of Florence more so than any other nation. It was Florence which was the center of Renaissance and where it started off. With the discovery of ancient Roman and Greek manuscripts and art, the prosperous city of Florence soon became a mecca of culture and great achievements. It was in early stages of the Renaissance when the son of a goldsmith, Sandro Botticelli created his most famous works; Primavera and The Birth of Venus. After his death, Botticelli’s masterpieces and his artworks’ importance were obscured and underestimated for nearly 400 years before scholars grasped the importance of his work; primarily Primavera and The Birth of Venus and how it played a vital role in the Renaissance movement. Sandro Botticelli in the courts of the...
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...Differences in art MR.GIBBS Devindra Mohabir Flushing High School Devindra Mohabir September 15, 2013 European History Differences in Art Both the Italian and Northern Renaissance had a lot of great art works, and artistes. They had some similar ideas in term of art and they had some differences. The Renaissance all started in Florence, Italy during the 14th century. Florence was the perfect place for it to start because it was at the center of an international trading port with both Europe and the Middle East. Also because Italy was at the center on the Roman Empire after it fell. The Renaissance was spawned by the birth of the philosophy of humanism, which emphasized the importance of individual achievement in a wide range of fields such as art and writing. Although Italian Renaissance broke all tradition with Gothic style of art during the 15th century, it was a different story on the north side of Europe. The north never really abandoned the dark and gothic styles, it held on to it. In the North, Artistes were focusing more on the Middle-class and peasant class than on the wealthy. Artists such as Pieter Bruegel and Hieronymus Bosch were creating masterpieces of the peasant life. They were showing their perspective of it. “The Peasant Wedding” is a great example of this; Pieter Bruegel painted it in 1567 and it just simply show a wedding celebration of a peasant. The North also focused more on nature and landscapes...
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