Overview of the Renaissance

The Renaissance from French: Renaissance "re-birth", Italian: Rinascimento, from rinascere "to be

reborn") was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. Though availability of paper and the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe.

As a cultural movement, it encompassed innovative flowering of Latin and vernacular literatures, beginning with the 14th-century resurgence of learning based on classical sources, which contemporaries credited to Petrarch, the development of linear perspective and other techniques of rendering a more natural reality in painting, and

gradual but widespread educational reform.

In politics, the Renaissance contributed the development of the conventions of diplomacy, and in science an increased reliance on observation. Historians often argue this intellectual transformation was a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern era. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is perhaps best known for its artistic developments and the

contributions of such polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance man".

Fun Facts about the Renaissance

• One of the most popular Greek philosophers was Plato. Many men studied Plato's writings at the Academy in Florence.

• Venice was famous for its glass work, while Milan was famous for its iron smiths.

• Francis I, King of France, was patron of the arts and helped Renaissance art spread from Italy to France.

• Artists were initially thought of as craftsmen. They worked in workshops and belonged to a guild.

• Two of the biggest changes to art from the Middle Ages were the concepts of proportion and perspective.

• Michelangelo and Leonardo became rivals when Michelangelo mocked da Vinci for not finishing a statue of a horse.

• Hunting was a popular form of entertainment for the wealthy.

• Artists and architects would often compete for a job, or commission, to create a piece of art.

Effects of the Renaissance

1. Increased trade with Asia and other regions

2. Growth of large, wealthy city-states in Italy

3. Renewed interest in the classical learning of ancient Greece and Rome

4. Rise of rich and powerful merchants, who became patrons of the arts

5. Increased desire for scientific and technical knowledge

6. Desire to beautify cities