Renaissance

A “rebirth” of art, learning, and culture in Europe (about 1350–1550)

Humanism

Focus on human potential, achievements, and studying classical texts

City-state

A small independent city with its own government (like Florence)

Republic

A government where citizens elect leaders

Medieval

The Middle Ages; time before the Renaissance, focused on religion and tradition

Perspective

An art technique that creates the illusion of depth (3D)

Chiaroscuro

Use of light and dark to create shading in art

Bankers

People who manage and lend money (helped fund the Renaissance)

Patron

A person who financially supports artists

Movable type

Printing method using individual letters that can be rearranged

Classics

Important works from Ancient Greece and Rome

Astronomy

Study of space, stars, and planets

Sonnets

14-line poems with a specific rhyme pattern used by Shakespeare

Dome

Rounded roof structure used in architecture

Anatomy

Study of the human body

Texture

How something feels or looks like it feels in art

“Renaissance Man”

A person skilled in many different areas

Codex

A notebook or collection of written/sketched ideas (like da Vinci’s)

Playwright

A person who writes plays

Northern Renaissance

Renaissance movement in Northern Europe

Protestant

A Christian who follows a non-Catholic church

95 Theses

List of complaints against the Catholic Church written by Martin Luther

Reformation

Religious movement to reform the Catholic Church

Italy

Birthplace of the Renaissance due to trade, wealth, and classical history

The Medici Family

Wealthy bankers who were major patrons of the arts

Leonardo da Vinci

Artist, inventor, and “Renaissance Man” (Mona Lisa)

Michelangelo

Artist/sculptor (painted Sistine Chapel ceiling, sculpted David)

Raphael

Painter known for balanced and realistic works (School of Athens)

Donatello

Sculptor known for realistic statues (David)

Francesco Petrarch

Writer known as the “Father of Humanism”

Florence

Important Italian city-state and center of Renaissance culture

Marco Polo

Explorer who encouraged trade with Asia

Ancient Greece

Inspired Renaissance ideas (art, philosophy, democracy)

Ancient Rome

Inspired architecture, government, and culture

William Shakespeare

English playwright (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet)

Nicolaus Copernicus

Astronomer who said the sun is the center of the solar system

Filippo Brunelleschi

Architect who designed the Florence Cathedral dome

Sistine Chapel

Church in Vatican City with Michelangelo’s paintings

Venice

Wealthy Italian trading city

Albrecht Dürer

Northern Renaissance artist known for detailed prints

Johannes Gutenberg

Invented the printing press with movable type

Miguel de Cervantes

Spanish writer (Don Quixote)

Andreas Vesalius

Studied human anatomy through dissections

Globe Theatre

Theater where Shakespeare’s plays were performed

Jan van Eyck

Northern Renaissance painter known for detail and realism

Titian

Italian Renaissance painter known for color

Martin Luther

Started the Reformation by challenging the Catholic Church