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Culture

Painting

Paintings in medieval/renaissance time were used to represent Christian stories from the Bible. In paintings, it was common to find churches, angels, Priests/Pope, crosses and people praying. Art works with medieval art style were from the 5th century (1)CE to 1000 CE and it was a combination of Classical Greek and Roman with Christian influence. In paintings, angels were often depicted playing instruments like (2)vielles to trumpets, not usually with bagpipes though because bagpipes were an instrument for the peasants (normally a Shepard would be depicted playing one in paintings). Paintings about religion was important, but so were paintings that represented the end of the world, or doomsday. The paintings about the apocalypse/doomsday often showed the Last Judgement or Heaven and Hell. The famous painting called "The Last Judgement" was created by Michelangelo, painted in the 14th century and in Fra Angelico. The passage that inspired "the Last Judgement".

 Matthew 25:31-46

"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Technique

Different techniques were used for medieval/renaissance art, such as: Relief sculptures, Frescoes and Mosaics. Relief sculptures was normally used on panels, book covers, caskets, devotional items and doors; relief sculptures are 3-D sculptures created with ivory as a medium and was usually used to depict Christian stories from the Old Testament. Frescoes are paintings done with water colour on a wet lime plaster surface, mosaics are a collection of stones and glass placed in detail. Both were used in churches and palaces.

Styles

There are many styles of medieval art, like:

• Byzantine, Romanesque (Western) and Gothic.

Byzantine art is an art form from the Eastern Roman Empire and consisted of many holy figures. The people in the paintings would have a halo around their head and normally had a gold background. The style was found in mosaics, frescoes and relief. The paintings were non-realistic because the painters goal was to show the symbolism of the piece (330 - 1453). Artists: Cavallini, Pietro 1250-1330, Theopanes the Greek 1330-1410

Romanesque (Western) is influenced by the Western Empires goal of power. The Roman Empire was broken into two- Eastern and Western Empires. The art depicts the Catholic religions climb in the west, byzantine in the east. The style began 200 years after the death of Christ. The style was muted colours (unless used in mosaics) and the figures importance was told by its size in the work. Artists: Duccio di Buoninsegna 1255-1319

Gothic was influenced by byzantine and Romanesque art styles and was popular in the 12th and 14th centuries. Gothic art involved the evolution to use brighter colours, realism, symmetry and more use of shadows and light.

Artists

Some of the more popular artists who got their name in before the end of the medieval/renaissance art period were Donatello, Giotto, Benvenuto di Giuseppe and Ambrogio Lorenzetti. All three artists were Italian and worked with paints but also worked with sculptures and frescoes. Donatello died in 1466 and he studied mainly in sculpting. He's have up to four assistants and worked with stone, bronze, wood, clay, stucco and wax. Work: Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata. Giotto was a painter and architect, died in 1337. His famous work involved the creation of the Crucifix (santa maria novelle).

Benvenuto di Giuseppe worked on mosaics and paintings throughout his career till he died in 1302. Work: Maestà (Cimabue). Ambrogio Lorenzetti died in 1348 and wroked during 1317 till 1348. Work: The Allegory of Good and Bad Governement

1. used in place for AD (year of our lord)
2. Fidel, Viuola

Who is composing? 

The Renaissance was a periode between the 14th and 17th centuries and is considered to be “the bridge” between the Medival Era and the Modern Era. The Renaissance was a cultural movement from Italy that grew in other countries. The basis for the style came from the rediscovery of classical greek work and humanism (also, art, architecture, politics, science and literature). Oil painting was discovered and the art of concrete making returned and became a more popular art form. Because the culture for the Renaissance came from Italy, Italien literature became popular and a new learning style, classical sources. Humanism was a large part of the art that was affected during this period because linear perspective* and new techniques were being used to create a more realistic painting.In science, observation and inductive reasoning were used much more and in politics, diplomacy* was introduced. There is a consensus that the Renaissance began in Florence and they came to that conclusion by comparing what the Italien culture brought to new countries and the position that Florence was in its’s arts, sciences, politics, etc.

Monarchy

In this period, royalty now had control over many aspects of religion, taxes, tariffs, the army and the laws and judicary. New monarchies were growing and the goal was to have an actual army, not jut a group of mercenaries. At the begining of the tenth century, the Capetian dynasty goverened France. France worked independantly most of the time and the monarches had little control over their vassals. In France, the Valoi dynasty ruledin 1328, Charles VII (expelled the English and oushed some of the churches power away) in 1422 and Louis the XI (expanded french countries) in 1461. England, Edward the IV (restored royal authority after the Tudor family) and Henry the VII (created the Royal Court which gave them the power to torture people while investigating, also created an aristocracy). Henry VIII created the Anglican Church and broke off from Catholisism because he wanted a male heir but his wife at the time couldnt produce children. Since its frowned upon in Catholoisism to divorce, the Anglican Church allowed divorce and he remarried to have kids. He not only withdrew himself, but all of England from the power of the Pope and the Catholic Church.

In Spain, the monarchy spent the renaissance expelling muslims and jews from their country and renewed the spanish inquisition.

Important people

Artists

• Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 – 1519)
• Michelangelo (1475 – 1564)
• Raphael (1483 – 1520)
• Titian (1488-1576)
• Donatello (1386-1466)

Politicians

• Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)
• Thomas More (1478-1535)

Scientists

• Nicholas Copernicus (1473- 1543)
• Paracelsus (1493 –  1541)
• Galileo (1564 – 1642)
• Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)

English Writers

• William Shakespeare (1564- 1616)

Plagues

The Black Plague was a large plague that killed 75-200 million people in the 14th century. There was no medicine or cure for this plague and it came in three forms: Pneumonic, Bubonic and Septicemic. Pneumonic plague attacked mainly the respiratory system and was an airborn disease. Bubonic plague was the most common of the three and attacked the lymph system and you would get large “buboes” or swollen lumps on your skin that mainly showed in the armpits, neck, and groin of the victim. The most rare of the plague was the Septicemic Plague with a mortality rate of 99-100% because it attacked your blood stream and caused bacteremia and severe sepsis. The enitial break out of the Black Plague was in China and it wipped out two thirds of the population

Other sicknesses that were huge during the Renaissance were: Pox, Clap (Gonorrhea), Ague(malaria), Sweaty Sickness(shook England in the Tudor period),Tuberculosis, Typhus, Plague, Measles, Scarlet Fever, Diptheria, Chicken pox, Leprosy was becoming rare, Cancer, Flux, etc.

Italian Wars

From 1494-1559 was a time in Italy where wars over culture, religion and territory happened constantly, many aliances were created and these battles included city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western Europe (France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, England, and Scotland).