After completing this lesson plan, students will be able to describe the characteristics of Renaissance art (including architecture) as well as the major examples of work and the artists of the time. Students will then create a chart of the major artists and their pieces. This lesson plan should take a total of 50 minutes to complete.
Created by Claire Bray, December 2007
History. The student understands the influence of the European Renaissance and the Reformation eras. The student is expected to:
- identify the causes and characteristics of the European Renaissance and the Reformation eras;
- identify the effects of the European Renaissance and the Reformation eras.
TEKS §113.33. World History Studies (c)(4)(A,B)
Culture. The student understands the relationship between the arts and the times during which they were created. The student is expected to:
- identify significant examples of art and architecture that demonstrate an artistic ideal or visual principle from selected cultures;
- analyze examples of how art, architecture, literature, music, and drama reflect the history of cultures in which they are produced;
- identify examples of art, music, and literature that transcend the cultures in which they were created and convey universal themes.
TEKS §113.33. World History Studies (c)(20)(A,B,C)
Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of sources including electronic technology. The student is expected to:
- identify ways archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, and geographers analyze limited evidence;
- locate and use primary and secondary sources such as computer software, databases, media and news services, biographies, interviews, and artifacts to acquire information.
TEKS §113.33. World History Studies (c)(20)(A,B,C)
- Students should already have knowledge of the foundations of the Renaissance, either through notes, readings or videos. Attached are basic notes over the Renaissance. Students should know why and where the Renaissance began and have an understanding of what it entailed. This lesson would be appropriate for the ‘second day’ of information on the Renaissance.
- Introduce students to some basic information about the characteristics of Renaissance art including sculpture, painting and architecture. You may find information from textbooks or online at sites such as:
- Renaissance Art in Italy
- "Renaissance" on Wikipedia
- "La Renaissance" on WebMuseum, Paris/
- Choose 8-10 artists that you would prefer to emphasize – suggestions include: Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Brunelleschi, Raphael, Donatello, Boccaccio, as well as northern Renaissance artists such as Durer, Holbein, Van Eyck and Bruegel. Project images created by these masters including sculpture, paintings, and buildings.
There are many websites and books containing these images including the images of European art and architecture on TIDES. You can use several methods of searching the web – by artist name, work, or location. Most Renaissance pieces in Italy can be found in either the Vatican in Rome or in Florence.
- Have students compare the style and subject of Italian Renaissance artists with the Northern Renaissance artists.
- Finally, have students complete (or create on their own) chart covering the major figures discussed in class.
The Renaissance
1300-1600 – Renaissance occurred in Europe
- Rebirth of art and learning
- Began in Italy and moved Northward
Italy:
- Because of Crusades, trade increased leading to the growth in Italian city-states (Milan, Florence, Venice)
- Population decreased dramatically after the plague, business opportunities diminished, so art investment increased
In city-states, a high percentage of people were involved in politics, but it was a small group of families who really had the power
Medici family ruled Florence – made their money in banking and trade
Cosimo Medici was the patriarch; 1434, controlled the government of Florence (behind the scenes)
Even after his death, the family stayed in control; Grandson, Lorenzo, was known as Lorenzo the Magnificent
Renaissance scholars studied many classical works – this practice developed into humanism:
- Focused on classical learning – history, literature, etc..
- Encouraged enjoyment of worldly pleasures
- People, even the church, became more secular
Patrons, or supporters of the arts, began to pay tremendous amounts of money to artists
- This demonstrated the importance and wealth of the patrons
People tried to become more well rounded
- Idea of Renaissance man arose
- Self-help books came out to “help” you
- The Courtier, by Castiglione, told you what you should and should not do to become this Renaissance Man
Art:
- As Renaissance grew, art changed – still used religious subjects, but art became more realistic
- The natural state of the human body, emotion, and personality of humans was revealed (Donatello’s David)
- Massachio also began using perspective which gives paintings a 3-d effect
Da Vinci:
- True Renaissance Man – painted, sculpted, invented – did amazing observations of the human body
- Painted Mona Lisa and The Last Supper
Michelangelo:
- Painter, sculptor, architect, poet
- Designed the dome at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and a tomb for Cosimo Medici
- Sculpted the classical statue David
- Painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
Raphael:
- Painted frescoes for Pope Julius II
Literature:
- Renaissance writers wrote in their native languages
- Petrarch – the first truly great humanist poet
- Boccaccio – author of Decameron
- Machiavelli’s The Prince is one of the first major works of political science
- A ruler must do whatever is necessary to be successful
- “The ends justifies the means”
Northern Renaissance:
- Cities and populations began to grow as the Hundred Years’ War ended, and the plague subsided
- England and France were much more centralized than Italy
- Artists began to move northward after political strife began in Italy
German painters:
Artists began to use realism –also started the use of oil based paint
Northern writers also began to agree with humanism
- Erasmus, Thomas More, and Rabelais
- Erasmus wrote In Praise of Folly
- Religious satire condemning corruption in Church
- Thomas More was author of Utopia
- Rabelais – very secular writer
Shakespeare:
- Born in Stratford-on-Avon
- Wrote tragedies Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet
- Comedies Taming of the Shrew and Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Writings showed human flaws
In England, the Renaissance was known as the Elizabethan age.
Renaissance ideas spread with the help of the printing press
Europeans had used block printing for several hundred years, but it was painfully slow
In 1440, and German, Gutenberg, revived movable type
- Hundreds of exact copies could be produced fairly quickly
- Books became less expensive
- More could afford to buy them
- Ideas spread more quickly
- Literacy increased
- Books were printed in local languages
- Led to questioning of the church
