The Renaissance
The Renaissance
• The Renaissance was the period of time the world entered into after the Black
Death.
• It is referred to as a rebirth, renewal or revival of the old human culture and
ideas.
• But why did it happen?
• Which human cultures were being revived?
• How did this affect human societies?
• These are the main questions we are going to try and answer today
The Renaissance and the Black Death
• The Black Death caused massive changes in Europe
• It led to a decrease in the amount of laborers (Peasants and serfs)
• This meant that if you were a lord and wanted people to work on your land,
you needed to offer them better living conditions and pay them more.
• Peasants now had access to more money and could spend it on different
things instead of just surviving with what they had.
The Renaissance and the Black Death
• The Church was also badly affected by the Black Death.
• People who prayed for protection from the plague were not saved and the
people had suffered terribly.
• This caused some people to start questioning the ideas and control of the
church.
• People started to think more about the meaning of their lives and began to
ask if there was more to life than just spiritual matters.
The Renaissance
• The effects of the Black Death led people to look to the past.
• Many believed that the lost way of life from the ancient Greeks and Romans
was superior to the dark times that they were living in.
• People wanted to rediscover the past and use that information to enrich their
own lives.
• Ancient Greek and Roman texts were found and translated and led to a new
idea
• Humanism
Humanism
• Humanism focuses on the belief that people should be more concerned with
worldly and human concerns
• People should not only live for the promise of going to heaven one day
• They should instead learn how to live a good life on earth and celebrate their
lives and the achievements of humans
• This led to the studies of the ‘humanities’ - Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric and
the social sciences - Medicine, Law, Theology and Philosophy
• People were focusing more on human endeavors rather than spiritual
Art and the Renaissance
• The humanistic beliefs that were popular during the Renaissance can be
clearly seen in the artwork that was being created
• The Renaissance gave the world some of the best and most well know artists
and artworks.
• Artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci
• Their artwork displays human beings instead of only biblical and spiritual
things
Renaissance Art
• Buildings that were built during the renaissance were made in the classical
style of the Greeks and Romans with pillars and sculptures
• This shows the attempt of the people during the Renaissance to go back to a
time that they believed to be better and would allow people to live better lives
Italy during the Renaissance
• Although being hit hard by the Black Death Italy had a revival of its own
• Trading routes started up again and this made Italy very rich again
• The rich businessmen and bankers used their money to be patrons of artists
and pay for them to create these beautiful pieces of art.
• Florence, Italy was an extremely powerful city and very influential when it
came to the Renaissance
• Why do you think rich people in Florence paid artists to create paintings and
sculptures?