WELCOME TO SOCIAL

STUDIES 8
HOW CAN INTERCULTURAL CONTACT LEAD TO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE
BETWEEN SOCIETIES AND ALTER THE WORLDVIEW OF EACH
SOCIETY?

AGENDA

Mini-lecture
Discussion.
ABC Update.
Closure.

THE ARTS DURING THE RENAISSANCE

Patrons:
Mainly came from the wealthy merchant class, government and
church.
People who paid artists to produce works.
Also paid artists to decorate private homes or public places.

THE ARTS CONSIST OF 4 MAIN AREAS

Painting.
Sculpture.
Architecture.
Literature.

PAINTING
During the Middle Ages:

Artwork mainly consisted of religious themes.

During the Renaissance:
There was still a focus on religious themes, however, because of
humanist ideas, images were portrayed in new ways.
There was also a growing interest in portraits and landscapes.

PAINTING
Renaissance art began to demonstrate an interest in:
The individual.
The present world.
Beauty.
Human excellence.

ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARTWORK

Natural World.
A focus on the things naturally found in our world, animals, leaves
on trees, blades of grass.

Light and shadow.

To give a portrait or painting a real life, 3-D effect.

Texture and pattern.

Giving a real life look to items like the carpeting, curtains, the floor.
Making them appear smooth, rough, bumpy, whatever it took to
give it life, and make it so you can almost feel it.

ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARTWORK

Realistic details:
Making the real look real.
Only including details that are realistic to the setting.

Elegance:

Refining the look of certain images through attention to the details.

The smoothness of hands.

HUMANISM emphasized:
1. INDIVIDUALISM: glorifying potential,
talents and accomplishments of
individual human beings.
2. CLASSICISM: Re-discovery and
appreciation of ancient Greek &
Roman culture (especially in
Italywhy is that?)

3. SECULARISM: emphasis on this

world (the here & now) and its
material pleasures rather than the
afterlife (hereafter) or spiritual world.

Remember Medieval
Artwork?

How is this different?

atmospheric
perspective
(hazy)

Shading

linear
perspective
(smaller)

Some basic Renaissance art techniques

ARTISTS DEVELOPED TECHNIQUES, SUCH AS

PERSPECTIVE, FOR PAINTING IN A REALISTIC WAY

How does this painting reflect humanism?

INDIVIDUALISM

Mary is a real
person, not a
medieval
zombie
Why does
she look
real?

SECULARISM
3-D
landscape
Concern with
details

Emphasize the
real world
setting

But this is still a religious painting

Renaissance
Europe is still
a very
religious
society

The Church is
still a major
power & art
patron

But the art is now done in a realistic style by

professionally trained artists, not untrained monks

Heres Michelangelos famous

sculpture, the Pieta, 1499

What do these two famous works

have in common?

They share a common composition

The triangular organization suggests stability and

order, values held by the ancient Greeks & Romans

It also suggests the Trinity, a basic

aspect of Christian belief

God the Father

God the Son

God the Holy Spirit

In addition to classical scenes, another

type of painting appeared that we didnt
see in the Middle Ages: portraits

Leonardo: Lady with an Ermine, 1490

Portraits: what could be a better

expression of

INDIVIDUALISM
Remember, too, that the Romans
were big on portraits

CLASSICISM

CONTEMPORARY ARTWORK
Some contemporary artists have also used this style of looking to
the past for inspiration.
Ojibwa artist Norval Morrisseau:
Uses artwork from the past found on petroglyphs and pictographs to
inspire cultural pride in his people.
He has become controversial in that some of his people feel that his
sharing of their sacred beliefs in a contemporary manner is breaking
with tradition.

CONTEMPORARY ARTWORK

Petroglyphs: artwork carved into rock with sharp implements.

Pictographs: artwork drawn onto rock and other surfaces, like
birchbark.

ABC ORGANIZER UPDATE

Humanist.
Humanism.
Civic humanism.
Francesco Petrarch.
Patrons.
Petroglyphs.
Pictographs.

CLOSURE:

Tomorrows Class: More of the arts.

Make sure the area around your desk is clean and tidy.
Check for personal belongings.