August+29,+2011+HW+Max+Chung

1. How did the cities of Italy help create the Renaissance? Cities of Italy were locations for exchanging novel notions, thus historians coined it as the catalyst of intellectual revolution. With charming cities, affluent merchants of eclectic vocations (due to the drastic population drop through the Black Death that coerced citizens to take jobs in not only trading, but also aesthetic category), and the heritage of ancient Greece and Rome, cities of Italy are considered to be the chief creator of the Renaissance period.

2. What is your opinion of the Medici family? Art was a huge matter during the Renaissance period and I appreciate the Medici family's effort to foster individuals to indulge in art through publication of their manuscript libraries. However, I believe their autonomous accumulation of wealth and authority as well as attempt to manipulate the politics by becoming a despot-like organization are culpable act of inhumanity

3. How did Humanism influence Renaissance ideas? The proposal of humanism to citizens of medieval period was a pivotal shift from placing principle focus on religious values to that of human achievements, the commencement of viewing the world with the glasses of science and materialism. Through humanism, traditional Greek values had impacted the population, resulting in development of architectural style and study of history, literature, and philosophy.

4. Why did church leaders and wealthy merchants support the arts? In parts, as patrons of art, church leaders and wealthy merchants donated their art pieces to adorn the churches and the cities, but the main purpose of the donations were to show off their affluence and vitality to the community for they have also painted portraits of themselves to be manifested.

5. What were the similarities and differences between upper-class Renaissance men and women? The similarities were that they were both expected to master miscellaneous profession in art and classics and also captivate their appearance as well as being pretenders of ingeniousness. However, their differences were that women were not allowed to seek fame nor create any forms of art, but to stimulate others to do so.

6. After reading the "Analyzing Primary Sources" box, respond to this question: Do the qualities called for in the ideal Renaissance man and woman seem to emphasize the individual or the group? Give evidence in the documents to back up your answer! The qualities seemed to emphasize both individual and group, but mostly in individuals. For instance, Castiglione claimed, "Let the man we are seeking be very bold, stern, and always among the first where the enemy are seen," which accentuates the significance of individual's glory and accomplishments. The quote implies that individuals of Renaissance desired "the best" and valued one's success rather than the group that he or she belonged.