Italian Renaissance
What does Renaissance mean, and what was being revived?
Rebirth; renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman art, literature, and learning.
What is linear perspective?
A technique using converging lines and a vanishing point to suggest depth.
Name one region where the Northern Renaissance developed.
German states, Low Countries, France, or England.
Who wrote the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517?
Martin Luther.
What was the Counter-Reformation?
Catholic efforts to reform internal problems and defend Catholic teachings against Protestant challenges.
Give two reasons the Renaissance began in Italy.
Mediterranean trade, wealthy patrons, competing city-states, and access to classical texts
Name two techniques Renaissance artists used to create realistic images.
Perspective, shading, natural anatomy, emotional expression, and overlapping figures
Who developed a practical European movable-metal-type printing system?
Johannes Gutenberg.
What did reformers criticize about the sale of indulgences?
Promotions sometimes implied spiritual benefits or forgiveness could be bought.
Which Catholic council met from 1545 to 1563?
The Council of Trent.
What was humanism, and how did it influence Renaissance thinking?
An emphasis on classical learning and human experience and potential; it encouraged careful study and individual achievement.
Why was oil paint especially useful to Northern Renaissance painters?
It dried slowly, making it easier to blend colors and paint fine details and subtle shadows.
Give one similarity and one difference between Italian and Northern Renaissance art.
Both explored realism; Italian art often emphasized anatomy and perspective, while northern art emphasized detailed surfaces and oil paint.
What is John Calvin’s teaching of predestination?
The belief that God had already determined who would be saved.
Who founded the Jesuits, and what work did they emphasize?
Ignatius of Loyola; education, missions and Catholic teaching.
Explain the importance of the Medici family.
Their banking wealth and influence helped fund artists and scholars in Florence.
How does Raphael’s School of Athens show Renaissance values?
It features classical philosophers, classical architecture, balanced composition, and perspective.
Explain how printing helped Renaissance culture spread.
It reproduced books, images and music faster and helped them reach wider audiences.
How did Henry VIII’s break with Rome differ from Luther’s challenge?
Henry was initially driven by marriage and royal power; Luther challenged religious teachings and indulgences.
Identify two Catholic Counter-Reformation actions.
Improved priest training, reaffirmed teachings, founded schools and missions, used inquisitions, or restricted books.
How was the Renaissance both a change from and continuation of the Middle Ages?
Classical study and realistic art expanded, while Christianity and Church patronage continued.
Compare halos and space in medieval and Renaissance artworks.
Many medieval works emphasized halos, gold backgrounds and flat space; Renaissance art increasingly showed depth, natural settings and more lifelike figures.
What does Dürer’s Rhinoceros show about the benefits and dangers of printing?
Printing spread images widely, but also reproduced errors because Dürer had not seen the animal.
Explain two religious or political effects of the Reformation.
It led to new Protestant churches, divided Western Christianity, increased some rulers’ control of churches, and contributed to conflicts.
What did the Council of Trent reform, and what did it reaffirm?
It called for better clergy education and discipline while reaffirming Catholic doctrine and scripture plus Church tradition.