Chapter 14
The Renaissance
Instructor’s Manual
Overview
In this chapter, introduce the Renaissance. Define the Renaissance and place Renaissance art in
context of the cultures of Europe and the changing economic and political climate. Speak to
visual rebirth that occurs in the arts and how it coincided with new developments in many other
fields, including the sciences.
Sub Headers
• The Idea of the Renaissance
• Early Renaissance Sculpture and Architecture
o Donatello
• Early Renaissance Painting: Mastering Perspective
o A Love of Learning and Grazia
o Leonardo Da Vinci
• The High Renaissance
o Michelangelo
o Raphael
• The Renaissance in Venice
o Palladio and Architecture
• The End of the High Renaissance in Italy
• The Beginning of the Northern Renaissance
o Art in the Courts of the Duke and Burgundy
o Jan Van Eyck
o Albrecht Dürer
o Hans Holbein and the Protestant Reformation
• Northern Renaissance: The Darker Side
• Genre: Scenes form Ordinary Life
Terms
deductive reasoning
figure triangle
genre
grazia
humanism
impasto
inductive reasoning
Reformation
Renaissance
secondary symbolism
stigmata
2
Lecture #1
Discussion:
Begin Lecture #1 by discussing the opening section “Timeless Links: Patronage and Power.”
Starting from the Renaissance, patronage of the arts began to shift from rulers and religious
institutions to important families and merchant princes. The bonds between patronage, power,
and artistic genius can be seen in the Medici Chapel, the statue of Constantine the Great, and
Louis XIV’s Versailles. Discuss with students examples from the text of more recent examples
of how wealthy families, the government, and other powerful individuals have affected
patronage of the arts. Continue Lecture #1 by discussing the ideas of the Renaissance, its early
beginnings, and the advances made in the arts and architecture. Use examples from the text to
highlight the growth in artistic and architectural expertise. Emphasize the works of Donatello,
Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
Class Questions/Prompts:
Transition from Middle Ages Compare paintings from medieval Europe found in chapter 13
with Giotto’s Lamentation (figure 14-1) from ca. 1305. How are figures depicted? How is space
used? Now compare Giotto’s work to Raphael’s The School of Athens (figure 14-21). How are
figures depicted? How is space used? Focus on items such as the solidity and weight of the
figures, how the figures are grounded, the use of proportion, the setting and environment, and the
use of shadowing.
The Importance of the Artist It was during the Renaissance when artists shed the anonymity
and gained prominence, and in some cases, they were regarded as geniuses. In the book, The
Lives of the Artists, the late Renaissance artist, architect, and writer Giorgio Vasari chronicled
the lives of prominent Italian Renaissance artists such as Giotto, Donatello, Raphael, and
Michelangelo. Vasari is often regarded as being one of the first art historians for his biographical
accounts. Read selections from Lives and discuss. Why did Vasari choose the artists he did?
Were there other artists he should have selected? Who? Are these accounts completely factual?
David and the Artist Both Donatello (figure 14-6) and Michelangelo (figure 14-16) created
statues of David, from the Biblical story of David vs. Goliath. Compare the two sculptures.
Evaluate the materials used, the size, the movement, and the psychological effects. Could the
Goliath that David defeated be a metaphor for a situation that either Donatello or Michelangelo
faced?
Patronage and Problems Ask students to debate the controversy surrounding Maya Lin’s
Vietnam Memorial. Divide students into two groups, one group for keeping the memorial as
designed, and the other group for agreeing that altering the memorial to include another statue is
acceptable. Take a poll before and after the debate to see how/if students’ opinions were swayed
by the discussion.
3
Exercise #1
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods, cultural, and
historical context.
Figure 14-5 Donatello, Saint Mark, 1411–1413. Marble. Florence, Italy,
2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 14-1 Giotto, Lamentation, c. 1305. Fresco Arena Chapel, Padua, Italy.
Figure 14-7 Andrea Mantegna, The Dead Christ, c. 1501. Tempera on canvas.
Milan, Italy.
Lecture #2
Discussion:
In Lecture #2 discuss the end of the High Renaissance and the beginning of the Northern
Renaissance. Speak to the political changes in Italy and the economic changes in Northern
Europe. Emphasize the work of Jan Van Eyck, Albrecht Dürer, and Pieter Bruegel.
Class Questions/Prompts:
Over on the Dark Side Lewis and Lewis refer to the Northern Renaissance as “The Darker
Side.” What is meant by the dark side? What does it imply? The lack of images in Protestant
churches is also referred to as the “darker side of the Reformation.” Does this imply that the
liberal use of imagery and decorations in a church would be the “lighter side?”
Exercise #2
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods, cultural, and
historical context.
Figure 14-25 Michelangelo Buonarroti, The Last Judgment, fresco on the altar
wall of the Sistine Chapel, 1534–1541.
2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 14-35 Hieronymus Bosch, triptych of The Garden of Earthly Delights,
Creation of Eve (left wing), The Garden of Earthly Delights (center panel), Hell
(right wing), 1505–1510.
Figure 14-39 Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Hunters in the Snow, 1565.
