Renaissance Key Facts

Key figures, works, and ideas of the Renaissance

20 cards · history

Cards (20)

Front	Back
Renaissance humanism	Classical learning focused on human potential and civic virtue Studia humanitatis emphasized grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy.
Medici patronage	Florentine bankers; major arts patrons of the 15th century Backed Brunelleschi, Donatello, Botticelli, and the young Michelangelo; Lorenzo “il Magnifico” led.
Linear perspective	Brunelleschi’s geometric system for depth, c. 1420s Uses a single vanishing point and orthogonals; codified by Alberti in 1435.
Oil painting in the North	Perfected by Jan van Eyck, 1430s; luminous, precise detail Slow-drying oils allowed layered glazes and realism in Netherlandish art.
Printing press	c. 1440; first movable-type printing press in Europe Revolutionized information spread; enabled the Reformation and Scientific Revolution.
Florence Cathedral dome	Brunelleschi, 1420–1436, double-shell dome without centering Herringbone brickwork solved the span; the dome became a symbol of Florence.
The Birth of Venus	Botticelli, c. 1484–1486, mythological nude on canvas Neoplatonic ideal of beauty; among the earliest large canvases in Florence.
The Last Supper	Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1495–1498, refectory mural One-point perspective centers Christ; experimental medium deteriorated quickly.
David	Michelangelo, 1501–1504, marble statue, Florence Republican symbol of Florence; originally installed in Piazza della Signoria.
Sistine Chapel ceiling	Michelangelo, 1508–1512, Vatican fresco cycle Includes The Creation of Adam, prophets, and sibyls; commissioned by Julius II.
School of Athens	Raphael, 1509–1511, fresco of classical philosophers Plato and Aristotle at center; synthesis of humanist learning and High Renaissance balance.
The Prince	Machiavelli, 1513; realist handbook on power Published 1532; portrays statecraft grounded in necessity rather than idealism.
The Book of the Courtier	Castiglione, 1528; ideal of the courtly gentleman Introduces sprezzatura—effortless grace—in conversation, manners, and arts.
Arnolfini Portrait	Jan van Eyck, 1434, oil on panel, meticulous detail Convex mirror, signature, and symbolic objects display technical and moral precision.
Albrecht Dürer	German master of printmaking; woodcuts and engravings Prints like Apocalypse and Melencolia I spread ideas across Europe.
Hunters in the Snow	Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565, winter landscape Part of a Seasons series; vivid, humane vision of peasant life and nature.
In Praise of Folly	Erasmus, 1509; satirical critique of abuses A classic of Christian humanism, dedicated to Thomas More.
Utopia	Thomas More, 1516; ideal commonwealth on an island Coins “utopia”; uses fiction to critique social and political ills.
De humani corporis fabrica	Vesalius, 1543; landmark anatomy based on dissection Corrected Galen through direct observation; famed for detailed woodcuts.
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium	Copernicus, 1543; heliocentric model of the cosmos Placed the Sun at the center; foundational for the Scientific Revolution.