The Renaissance




   1. The Renaissance
   The Renaissance is the great literary and artistic movement that started in Italy in the XIV century, which then spread all over Europe and changed the lives and ideals of society. Its main feature was the cult of the Greek and Roman culture, which led to the flourishing of literary and artistic expressions.
   Among the causes that incentivized the Renaissance are:

   - The Wealth in the Italian cities due to trade and industry.
   - Enriched families and the protection by the Popes of the new Renaissance knowledge.
   - The fall of Constantinople, which forced many Byzantine scholars to take refuge in other parts of Europe.
   - The great Spanish and Portuguese geographical discoveries.
   - The spread of new inventions like the printing press, paper, ink, gunpowder and the compass.    The main figures of the Italian Renaissance are Dante (author of the Divine Comedy), Petrarch (with love sonnets dedicated to Laura) and Boccaccio (author of the Decameron).
   Humanism is the literary manifestation of the Renaissance. Humanists are literary men consecrated to the study of Greek and Latin and the works of Greek and Roman authors, whom they tried to imitate and spread.

     2. Indicate if the statements are true or false:

The Renaissance began in Italy

It spread across America

They sought the Greek and Roman culture

Italian cities were rich

The fall of Constantinople was a detriment

Byzantine scholars went

The findings did not influence

There were new inventions



     3. The Italian Renaissance

    Several Italian cities were the focus of the Renaissance, such as Rome (with the support of Popes Julius II and Leo X), Florence (with the patron “protectors” Cosimo de Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent), Milan (with Ludovico il Moro), Venice (with the best printing press) and Naples (with Alfonso V the Magnanimous).

   The Top three artists of the time are:

   - LEONARDO DE VINCI is the universal Renaissance genius considered by some as the most privileged heads of humanity, who excelled as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, musician, astronomer, mathematician and physicist. His most notable works are the Last Supper and Gioconda or the Mona Lisa. (See the painting).

   - MICHELANGELO was an excellent sculptor, with his great work of Moses at the tomb of Pope Julius II. Among his paintings are the Sistine Chapel and the Last Judgment.

   - RAPHAEL OF URBINO was a painter of universal fame who tended to embellish everything with a sweet and poetic tone. His works are full of serenity and happiness. His major works are in the Vatican, such as the School of Athens, the Dispute of the Holy Sacrament, the Parnassus and the Transfiguration.

    4. Indicate whether these facts refer to: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo or Raphael.

He made the sculpture of Moses

Tended to embellish all

He is the most universal genius

He painted the Sistine Chapel

He painted the School of Athens

He painted the Mona Lisa



     5. The European Renaissance

   - FRANCE. The protectors of France were Charles VIII and Francis I. Humanism had to fight the influence of the University of Paris (Sorbonne), which was the center of academic medieval studies. However, the creation of the School of France contributed to the diffusion of the Renaissance.

   - THE NETHERLANDS. The most prominent character was Erasmus of Rotterdam, who was a true universal and encyclopedic writer of the Renaissance. His most notable works are: Colloquies, the Adagios, collection of anecdotes, proverbs and phrases of classical authors and the Praise of Folly, which is a violent satire against social immorality, ignorance, superstition and folly. (Refer to the image).

   - GERMANY. Humanism was given a boost due to the fact that in Germany John Gutenberg invented the printing press. Some main figures of art were Holbein and Dürer. Hans Holbein was a very well known portraitist; his best work is the portrait of Henry VIII of England. Albrecht Dürer painted the Knight, Death and the Devil, the Melencolia, as well as his self-portrait.

   - ENGLAND. The universities of Cambridge and Oxford helped spread the Renaissance. Amongst the great humanists were John Colet and St. Thomas More, who was the author of Utopia, which described an ideal state without class privileges. Thomas More refused to swear to the Act of Succession, which recognized the union of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as a marriage. The king was declared the supreme head of the Church of England and it denied the authority of the Pope. John Fisher (Bishop of Rochester) and Sir Thomas More (Chancellor of the Kingdom) refused to swear to the Act and were imprisoned in April 1534 and beheaded the following year.

   6. Indicate to which country the statements refer to: France, the Netherlands, Germany or England.

The printing press was invented

Thomas More was a great humanist

Erasmus Rotterdam was a writer

Charles VIII and Francis I were protectors

He wrote Colloquies and Adagios

John Colet was a humanist

Holbein and Dürer were painters

The School of France was established



     7. The Spanish Renaissance

   In Spain, the Renaissance spread with the Christian conception of life. We can distinguish the following aspects:

   - CULTURE. The diffusion of culture was encouraged by the first printing press in Valencia and Zaragoza. The first book was published in Valencia in 1474 entitled "Obres e trobes en lohors de la Verge María". The Complutense Polyglot Bible was also published, which was considered the first scientific work of the modern world.
   The leading figures of Spanish Humanism were Antonio de Nebrija, best known for writing a grammar of the Castilian language, Luis Vives and Arias Montano.
   Apart from the universities of Salamanca and Valladolid, that of Alcalá, which was founded by Cardinal Cisneros, also excelled. (Refer to the image).

   - ARCHITECTURE. In Spain we can distinguish:
   + The flamboyant Gothic with a rich decoration.
   + The Isabel style, which is a combination of Gothic elements with Moorish and German-Burgundian origins.
   + The Hispanic Renaissance with three variants: plateresque style (combination of the Italian Renaissance and Isabel’s style), the Cisneros style (Renaissance with Mudejar, such as the one of the University of Alcalá) and the purist style (Italian Renaissance).

   - SCULPTURE. It had a great development due to the improvement of the economy and the religious fervor of the time. At first, it had a Flemish-German influence and later another from the Italian Renaissance thanks to Florentine artists such as Domenico di Sandro Francelli. The Spanish sculptors were rather numerous. Damián Forment and Alonso Berruguete was a very well known sculptor.

   - PAINTING. Castile had a Flemish-German influence due to Queen Elizabeth’s liking of Flemish paintings. Outstanding painters of the time were Fernando Gallegos, Bartolomé Bermejo and Luis Dalmau. The Italian school was a big influence for Pedro Berruguete and the Macip brothers, who were imitators of Raphael.

     8. Indicate if the statement refers to: culture, architecture, sculpture or painting.

The flamboyant Gothic

Pedro Berruguete

Antonio Nebrija and L. Vives

Florentine artists came and were influential

The Complutense Polyglot Bible

Damian Forment

Plateresque style

Luis Dalmau

Fernando Gallegos

Alonso Berruguete



If you are registered, please enter your data
 
Name:
 

Password:
 

 

Registration Information

 Educational applications 

History

In Spanish  To print

®Arturo Ramo García.-Record of intellectual property of Teruel (Spain) No 141, of 29-IX-1999 Plaza Playa de Aro, 3, 1º DO 44002-TERUEL







>