Renaissance

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• Change is when something becomes different. It's important because these changes helped bring the flourish of culture. For example, the trade and commerce increased and this increased the interest in arts and learning. Change is related to the  Renaissance because during this period, there were a lot of changes in either art, science, politics or religion. The Renaissance even changed aspects of people's lives 

1. Humanism

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   • Humanism is a philosophy that tries to balance religious faith with individual dignity, nature and the human society. It's the main reason for the development of the Renaissance. The reason being humanists encouraged learning, so people started studying works from the classical period. A variety of subjects was studied and improved because of humanism. Therefore, it should be connected to change because it brought many changes to old ideas and the way of thinking. 
   1. Independent Thinking

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      • Independent thinking was important because people started respecting and paid attention to theirselves. People would want to control their own lives and be successful, which is through education. So individuals started studying different subjects and improved society's culture and education. The creativity contributed greatly towards the Renaissance. The emphasis of independent thinking came from humanism, which necessarily makes them connected. 
   2. Ancient Greece and Rome

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      • This term is under Humanism because humanists tried to improve on the work of ancient Greeks and Romans. Many influential and fascinating ideas developed from the studies of these two great societies. 
      1. Rebirth of Classical Ideas

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         • The ancient Greeks and Romans are both part of the classical period. So when people started to gain interest in these two groups, the rebirth of classical ideas started. Scholars taught methods, scientists proposed new ideas, artists and doctors studied anatomy, poets wrote about religious and real life subjects, writers created works of history and politics. All of these came from the inspiration of classical ideas. The sudden renewed interest in classical culture led to the flowering of art and learning.
         1. Arts

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            • Art during the Renaissance can definitely show the connection and difference between the Renaissance and classical world. The renewed interest in classical culture led to the great flowering of art and learning. Many incredible arts came from this period and is kept carefully until today. Artists learn from the techniques and characteristics used in these amazing artworks. 
            1. Perspective

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               • Another advance made during the Renaissance was the use of perspective. Painters started using perspective to create depth in their paintings. This new technique made the art more realistic and three-dimensional. 
            2. Michelangelo

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               • Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor and painter. His art represents Renaissance beauty and emotional expressions. One of his greatest works is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He covered the ceiling with scenes from the Bible. Michelangelo's picky personality created incredible arts and led other artists too. 
            3. Donatello

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               • Donatello was a Florentine sculptor, he was one of the first to use a realistic, lifelike style to create art. For example, his statue of David included many details and shows the improvement, difference from previous sculptures. So his importance is sort of joining and leading sculptors to use the new, realistic style. 
            4. Raphael

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               • Raphael was an Italian painter and sculptor. He contributed to Renaissance art through his many paintings and architecture designs. His best known structure is Villa Madama, a rural house built during the Renaissance.
            5. Non Religious Themes

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               • One of the major changes in art during the Renaissance was people made artworks to show importance of people and nature, not just religious ideas. So non religious themed artworks was created during this period. This is an influential breakthrough because people started learning new techniques to create artworks with themes in a greater variety. 
            6. Leonardo Da Vinci

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               • Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the greatest painter and sculptor of all time. He was able to make many detailed and precise drawings of people, animals, and plants. He studied proportions to perfect his artworks. One of his masterpieces in Mona Lisa, this work shows the use of perspective, balance, detail and study of light. His work inspired other great artists and is famous even until today. 
            7. Patrons

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               • A patron is someone who supports the arts or other activities by supplying money for them. These people are important because their investment in artists gives opportunities to learn more about new art techniques and improve the level of art produced. 
         2. Architecture

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            • Architects were also influenced by classical ideas, they studied Greek and Roman ruins then used the knowledge learned to create new buildings. The advances in architecture is important because their works embellished the city and also represents elements of classical ideas with their own humanist ideals. 
            1. Brunelleschi

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               • Brunelleschi was an Italian designer and first modern engineer. He's also the planner and sole construction supervisor. He helped create one of the greatest architectural achievement, the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral. He designed the dome by letting huge stone arches lean against each other instead of beams or columns. 
            2. Leonardo Da Vinci

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               • Leonardo Da Vinci studied an variety of subjects and architecture being one of them. He was an great architect, contributed by helping design the Milan Cathedral. 
         3. Science

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            • Science is put here because the rebirth of classical ideas made scientists to start questioning the old ideas. Instead of relying on old texts and theories, scientists began to perform experiments and analyze results with math and logic. This is a big step towards modern science and mathematics. Many important theories were justified and discussed during the Renaissance. 
            1. Gutenberg

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               • Gutenberg is related to science because he is also an inventor. He invented the printing press which is a major accomplishment. His invention made books more affordable and was abel to spread information faster and to more people. 
               1. Printing

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                  • Inventing the new technology of printing was Gutenberg's amazing invention. It was able to spread new ideas quickly, which is very important for the Renaissance. People could share creative ideas easily. 
                  1. Famous Printing Bible

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                     • One of the most useful product produced by Gutenberg's new printing press is the bible. Printing the bible was a significant change because now everyone could read it instead of just priests. 
            2. Vesalius

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               • Vesalius was an Belgian scientists. He changed medicine and the study of anatomy. Vesalius made many discoveries about the human body and even wrote an anatomy textbook .His studies changed many ideas and the understanding of medicine. 
               1. Medicine

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                  • Vesalius's discoveries on the human body helped change physicians' understanding of medicine. His book became the first modern medical textbook. The medicines produced helped prevent some diseases.
            3. Galileo

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               • Galileo Galilei was another great scientist during the Renaissance period. He is most famous and important for proving heavier and lighter objects fall at the same rate. He also built the first telescope and discovered sunspots, moons of Jupiter with it. 
            4. Copernicus

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               • Copernicus was a Polish scientist, also known as the "father of modern astronomy". He was best known for his heliocentric theory, which suggests that Eartha and other planets orbit the sun. Copernicus was a major influence on other scientists, and his theory was later proven true. The Copernican theory is the basis of modern astronomy and a incredible breakthrough of science. 
            5. Leonardo Da Vinci

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               • Leonardo Da Vinci was a scientist. His endless curiosity and thinker personality supported his study in science. He had to prove everything himself before believing it. So he conducted experiments and learned about anatomy and also the effects of moon on tides.
         4. Literature

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            • Literature was also changed because of the rebirth of classical ideas and humanism. During medieval times, literature usually revolved around religious topics and could only be read by few highly educated people. However, now that the classical ideas were brought back, writers wrote about nonreligious topics too. They wrote in their own languages so most people were able to read. Having more people able to read benefited the growth of Renaissance because reading, a great way of learning, was applied to more now.
            1. Shakespeare

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               • William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, one of the greatest in the world. He's clearly related to literature because of his job. He had a deep influence on later writers and also the English language. For instance, he left many common sayings and created great plays that is still acted for entertainment and education even now. 
   3. Petrarch

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      • Francesco Petrarch is considered to be the founder of Renaissance humanism. As one of the first humanists he also encouraged study classical culture by collecting ancient Latin and Greek texts. So he's sort of the creator of humanism which greatly helped the growth of Renaissance. 
   4. Power of the Church and Kings Challenged

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      • During the Renaissance, people started to question about everything and think independently because of humanism. The church used to tell them that they have to pay money to escape from purgatory. However, now that everyone has their own copy of the Bible, they realized that purgatory doesn't even exist! Once the people get educated, they also realize that the government systems has many flaws. So humanism brought challenges to the power of the Church and kings, which necessarily caused many changes. 
2. Politics

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   • Politics is being placed here because it's definitely one of the changes made because of the Renaissance. It also created changes. The government controlled the city, so when they sponsored the artists, writers and musicians to make the city more beautiful and famous, they've made their significance towards the Renaissance. 
   1. Medici Family

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      • Florence was ruled under a series of governing boards. Boards were controlled by rich families including the Medici Family, who controlled Florence for nearly three centuries. They were very powerful and contributed to the Renaissance by being sponsors of artists, writers, and musicians. I decided to put it under politics because the Medici family was a major part of the Florentine Politics. 
   2. Machiavelli

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      • Niccolo Machiavelli was a Renaissance statesman and historian. He wrote an important book about politics called The Prince. It shows the influence of humanist ideas and how politics and government works. He is part of the change in politics because he studied political science and his book changed some people's ideas about politics.

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• The Italian city-state of Florence was Italy's leading cultural center during the Renaissance. Its wealth helped support the flourish of arts and education, leading to their outstanding advances in many subjects such as architecture, engineering, painting, sculpture, literature, science, mathematics, politics, commerce and trade. I chose to connect it directly to Renaissance because Florence is where the Renaissance really began and also where many great figures came from.