WESTERN
STD.
Worksheet
THE
RENAISSANCE IDEAL
The
following statements were made by two leading figures of the Renaissance in
Italy.
People
during the Renaissance used the term "man" to mean humanity, or all human
beings.
Read the statements and answer the questions that follow.
"Men are
themselves the source of their own fortune and misfortune."
"I am a
free man. I do not need to copy, my own
genius is
enough. I am without a master, model,
or guide.
I go to work and earn my own living, well-being, and fame. What more do I need?
1. What do
these statements reveal about how individuals viewed themselves during the
Renaissance?
2. How did
these ideas differ from the medieval viewpoint about the individual and
society?
3. Which
viewpoint, Renaissance or medieval, is most similar to the modern perspective?
Support your answer with reference to specific supporting details.
ISABELLA
D'ESTE: A RENAISSANCE PERSON
At the height of the Renaissance
Isabella d'Este helped her husband, Francesco Gonzaga,
rule the Italian city-state of Mantua. While
her husband was away she reassured him,
"keep a tranquil mind and give all your
attention to military matters, for I intend to
govern Mantua in such a way that you will
not suffer any wrong." Isabella so impressed
others with her knowledge, lively wit, and
political skills that a leading poet called her "la
prima donna del mondo," the first lady of
the world.
Isabella
started life with many advantages. Her family, the Este, ruled Ferrara, a
wealthy city-state on the Po River. As a daughter in a noble family, Isabella
received a thorough
education in the humanities, including Greek and Latin. She developed a special
love of poetry and impressed visitors by
reciting verses from Dante. Also emphasized were the traditional skills expected
of aristocratic women; playing the lute, signing, dancing, and
embroidering. With her intelligence and fine
education, she was able to talk easily with the scholars and artists who visited
the Este court. By the time she was married, at age sixteen, Isabella fit
the Renaissance ideal of a cultivated and talented individual.
Isabella
married Francesco Gonzaga, ruler of Mantua, a small but wealthy Italian city-state.
In addition to fulfilling the traditional roles of wife and mother, she had nine
children, Isabella devoted herself to Mantua. The thousands of letters she wrote
in her lifetime show the vast range of her abilities. In then she commented on
everything from
war and
family matters to art and politics. A clever and skillful diplomat, Isabella
helped
to preserve
the security of Mantua. During the Renaissance the Italian city-states were
nests of intrigue and constantly at war with each other. When her husband was
captured in battle,
Isabella kept the citizens calm and eventually helped to secure his release.
In
Mantua, Isabella helped to establish the
artistic trends and styles of the
Renaissance as she was a generous, but
demanding patron of the arts. She
once told an artist, "You can paint
anything you want as long as it is not
ugly." Writers, poets, and artists flocked to
her glamorous court seeking her patronage.
Among those individuals were Michelangelo
and Leonardo da Vinci who sketched
this portrait of her. Other
individuals wrote songs in her honor and numerous books were sent to
Mantua for her approval. As a result,
Isabella was able to establish one of
the finest collections of books,
paintings, and statues in all of
Italy
How was Isabella d'Este the
perfect embodiment of the ideal Renaissance individual?