Renaissance

• The Renaissance emerged in Italy in the 14th Century.
• Derived from the French word Renaister, and the Latin word Renasci which means rebirth.
• During this period, interest in the classical Greek and Roman art and culture was reborn in Europe.
• Renaissance first appeared in Italy, particularly in Florence, Venice, and Milan.
• This is because Italy possessed characteristics that contributed to the development of art.
• Influential Traders had a great influence in politics.
• Their influence was self-earned rather than inherited.
• In Florence, the Medici family was the most affluent and most powerful family.
• Although they did not hold any position in the government, their wealth made them influential.
• Cosimo de’ Medici and his grandson, Lorenzo de’ Medici were most famous among the clan.
• The remnants of the Greek and Roman empires inItaly benefited the Italians as these served astheir sources of inspiration.
• Added to these were the Latin scripts brought by Byzantine monks fromConstantinople.
• The philosophy that deals with humanity is called Humanism.
• Humanism focuses on individuals and their values, skills, interests, dignity, and ability to progress.
• In this period, scholars also shifted their focus to classical learning-philosophy, history, andliterature-known as humanities.
• Literature thrived during the Renaissance.
• Francesco Petrarch -

  Known as the “Father of Renaissance”. Excellent writer, both in Italian and Latin. He created 366 sonnets of his love for Laura, who had died in the Black Death.
• Giovanni Boccaccio -

  Wrote Decameron, a collection of stories on seven women and three men who left Florence in 1348 because ofthe plague.The book expresses the ability of people to solve problems and rise from tragedy.
• Baldassare Castiglione -

  An Italian diplomat and courtier. He is the author of The Courtier, which describes the attributes acourtier must have, such as excellent in sports and deep knowledge on humanities.
• Geoffrey Chaucer -

  Considered as the greatest Englishpoet before Shakespeare. His most outstanding work is the Canterbury Tales, in which he depicted various kinds of people in his period.
• Thomas More -

  An English stateman who authored Utopia, in which he described a model and desired society. In such a society, everyone is equal and enjoys a bountiful life.
• William Shakespeare -

  An English poet and dramatist, consideredas the greatest dramatist of all time and the most excellent writer in English. Among his works are the comedies The Merchant Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream; the tragedies Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth.
• Christine de Pizan -

  A famous French poetess who wrote poems about courtly love. She also wrote a biography of King Charles V of France. She was also known for The Book of the City of Ladies, in which she rejected the idea that women do not have the capacity to learn and could not make their ownstand.
• Desiderius Erasmus -

  In his most popular work, In Praise of Folly, he used satire to criticize the corruption and vanities of the priests. The book was one of those that helped launch the Reformation against the Church.
• Miguel de Cervantes -

  The Spanish writer and poet who wrote the novel Don Quixote. Through this book, he expresses that chivalry did not conform to the changes in society.
• Niccolo  Machiavelli - A Florentine diplomat, he is known as the “Father of Modern Political Theory". His best-known work is The Prince, one of the most influential books in Europe. In this book, he stated that by nature, humans are greedy, always changing minds, and untrustworthy.
• Renaissance art usually featured human semblance.
• Renaissance artists were considered as geniuses.
• Filippo Brunelleschi -

  The Italian architect who designed the dome of the Cathedral of Sta. Maria del Flore in Florence.
• Michelangelo Buonarroti - The greatest artist of his time. He sculpted the famous David and La Pieta. He also painted Biblical scenes in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel as commissioned by Pope Julius II.
• Donatello - A popular sculptor in Florence who used bronze and marble. Created a statue of David in 1430.
• Leonardo da Vinci - One of the greatest artists during the Renaissance. He was also a scientist, architect, engineer, inventor, writer and philosopher. His best-known work is the Mona Lisa. He also painted the Last Supper.
• Raphael - The Italian painter and architect who created Madonna and School of Athens.
• In the latter part of 1400, the Renaissance spread northward, particularly to England, France, Germany, and Flanders
• John Van Eyck - considered as the greatest Flemish painter during the Renaissance. One of the first painters in northern Europe who used oil paint. Two of his masterpieces are Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride or the Arnolfini Marriage. He also painted Portrait of a Man, assumed to be a a self-portrait.
• Albrecht Durer - Apocalypse series, which was his interpretation of the Book of Revelations of the Bible, is greatly admired.
• Peter Bruegel the Elder - A Flemish painter from Belgium who painted The Peasant Wedding, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, and The Hunters in Snow. The picture on the left, a detail work name The Painter and the Buyer, is believed to be a self-portrait of Bruegel the Elder.
• Renaissance ideas quickly spread in the whole Europe with the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg.
• Gutenberg was a German metalworker who improved the method of printing in Europe from woodblock printing, which reached the continent through trade with the Chinese.
• In 1455, the Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed using his invention, was released.