Renaissance Art

Study the paintings below. For each painting, write 1-2 complete sentences summarizing the main idea of the painting’s relationship to Renaissance life and the philosophy of humanism.

1. Raphael: School of Athens


2. Quentin Massys: A Money-Changer and his Wife


3. Leonardo da Vinci: Proportional Study of a Man in the Manner of Vitruvius


4. Albrecht Durer: Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam


5. Pieter Bruegel: Summer (1568)

Renaissance Humanism

To understand Renaissance Humanism, we have to get to the source: the writers and thinkers that embodied these ideas.

First, write a definition of Renaissance Humanism in your own words.

Now, read the following quotes by Renaissance men. For each quote, write 1-2 sentences describing how the author and his thoughts reflect the spirit of humanism. 

1. “What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving, how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension [understanding], how like a god! The beauty of the world; the paragon of animals” – Shakespeare, Hamlet

2. “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” – Leonardo Da Vinci

3. “With the forethought that we are mortal, and that every adversity can befall us, let us do what the wise have so highly praised: let us work so that past and present will contribute to the times that have not yet come … To you, (man) is given a body more graceful than other animals, to you power of apt and various movements, to you most sharp and delicate senses, to you wit, reason, memory like an immortal god… A man can do all things if he will.” – Leon Battista Alberti

4. “It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is.” – Desiderius Erasmus

5. “How beautiful is youth, which is always slipping away! Whoever wants to be happy, let him be so: of tomorrow there’s no knowing.” – Lorenzo De’ Medici

6. “Man in truth is a marvelous, vain, fickle, and unstable subject.” – Michel de Montaigne

7. “The brave man carves out his fortune, and every man is the son of his own works.” – Miguel de Cervantes

8. “I have come to understand why man is the most fortunate of creatures and consequently worthy of all admiration and what precisely is that rank which is his lot in the universal chain of Being — a rank to be envied not only by brutes but even by the stars and by minds beyond this world. It is a matter past faith and a wondrous one. Why should it not be? For it is on this very account that man is rightly called and judged a great miracle and a wonderful creature indeed.” – Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Oration on the Dignity of Man

9. “For what folly would it be to pass all one’s life in toil and poverty and care, heaping up riches, just to die at last and have no time to enjoy them?” – Petrarch,  the “father of Humanism”

10. "Take as a model a leader who's been much praised and admired and keep his examples and achievements in mind at all times," Machiavelli, author of The Prince

Renaissance Art Film Festival

Welcome to the Renaissance Art Film Festival! Watch three of the five short films below and answer the questions that follow, using information from the films as well as your knowledge of the Renaissance. Your answers should be 3-4 sentences each. Include information that you've learned about the Renaissance and its guiding idea of humanism in your answer. 

Choice 1: "How to Find the True Face of Leonardo da Vinci" below.

After watching this film, explain why you think we know (or still don't know) what da Vinci looks like. Are the primary sources Woldhek used in the talk reliable? 

Choice 2: "Dissecting Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi" below.
What does this film tell you about the relationship between art and political power in 15th century Florence? 

Choice 3: "The Many Meanings of Michelangelo's David" below. 

Is a work of art limited when it's tied to a location? Are truly great art pieces relevant to all places and times? Explain your answer. 

Choice 4: "Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man of Math" below.
If this image accurately demonstrates many different cultural trends of Leonardo's time period, what image or images do the same for ours? 

Choice 5: "What 'Machiavellian' Really Means" below.

Why do you think Machiavelli's The Prince continues to be so shocking and notorious to this day? Do you see The Prince influencing any modern political movements or trends? 

Machiavelli: Do the Ends Justify the Means?

Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian writer and politician during the Renaissance. Machiavelli worked for the government of Florence, but lost his job when the Medici family was forced out of power. It was then that Machiavelli began to write about politics, specifically realism: how the world worked instead of how it should work.

Machiavelli's most famous work was The Prince, written in 1513. In The Prince, Machiavelli discusses how leaders can get and maintain power. He argues that a leader's authority comes from power, and that rulers who are strong and have lots of power will stay in control, no matter if they are good or evil. It was important, Machiavelli argued, to have a strong ruler, because that's how city-states and countries could protect themselves.

Machiavelli's most famous idea is that "the ends justify the means." What he meant by that is that a ruler who wants to stay in power must be prepared to do anything -- even things that are evil or cruel. According to Machiavelli, the only thing that makes people obey laws is the threat of force. Therefore, in order to stay in charge, a ruler had to keep people afraid. Today, people who will do anything to achieve their goals are described as "Machiavellian."

The Prince has been a popular book throughout history. Rulers and politicians the world over have used Machiavelli's ideas to justify their behavior.

Click here to read 11 lessons from The Prince still relevant today. Which lesson do you think is the most important? If the first link doesn't work, try this one. 

 The Prince is sometimes described as an instruction manual for those who want political power. But is there ever a situation where the goal is so important that it doesn't matter what method is used to achieve it? With a neighbor, three of these goals and explain what means would and would not be justified. Write down your answers; we will be using these in a class discussion.

•     Defend the country against a foreign invasion
•     Protect your home from a burglar
•     Get into the college of your choice
•     Stay (or become) popular in school
•     Make people obey a recycling law