Renaissance burst forth in all its glory around 1500 and spread throughout Europe. This period of great creativity and productivity in the arts and sciences is illuminated in Renaissance People: Lives That Shaped the Modern Age through the lives of more than ninety of its illustrious intellectuals, artists, literary figures, scientists, and rulers. --from publisher description.

This important and beautiful book accompanies the opening of the Victoria and Albert Museum's spectacular new Medieval and Renaissance galleries. Among the textiles, paintings, sculpture, glass, metalwork, prints, manuscripts, furniture, ceramics and jewelry featured here are such renowned treasures as the Devonshire tapestries, the Leonardo Notebooks, Donatellos Ascension relief, the reliquary casket of St. Thomas Becket, and many more astonishing works. Organized thematically, the book explores the social contexts responsible for these captivating objects, both commonplace and precious, recovering the attitudes of makers and owners of the time toward artistic practice. Rather than adopting the traditional sharp distinction between the Medieval and Renaissance, the authors explore aspects of the whole of this long period in European design and manufacture: an approach that emphasizes the continuities and gradual developments that were often as significant as sudden upheaval. A general historical introduction to the social and political background is followed by chapters that explore concepts of art, workshops, and sales, the classical past, ornament, religious art, health and body, and the ways in which objects themselves express the attitudes of their owners.

This major new collection of essays by leading scholars of Renaissance Italy transforms many of our existing notions about Renaissance politics, economy, social life, religion, medicine, and art. All the essays are founded on original archival research and examine questions within a wide chronological and geographical framework - in fact the pan-Italian scope of the volume is one of the volume's many attractions.Gender and Society in Renaissance Italy provides a broad, comprehensive perspective on the central role that gender concepts played in Italian Renaissance society.

What do Richard Branson, Quincy Jones, Yvon Chouinard, David E. Stewart, Elon Musk, Frank Nuovo, John Paul DeJoria and Steve Jobs have in common with Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Sir Isaac Newton? They all share the 12 Essential Traits of the Renaissance Man. BEYOND GENIUS travels through history to determine the 12 essential traits that define a Renaissance Man, then applies those attributes to determine some of the Renaissance Men of today. We tell their stories of determination and perseverance, their expertise in a variety of fields, their insatiable curiosity, the infusion of their wisdom and creativity into our culture. We explore the making of a Renaissance Man and the deep connection these men have to advancements in the sciences, the arts and our way of being. Scott Griffiths & Eric Elfman, and their team, have put more than 1,000 hours of research into studying the history of the Renaissance Man, identifying common attributes that are constant throughout time, and identifying a select group today's most successful Renaissance Men. By understanding these traits, identifying and developing them, the innerRenaissance Man can be unleashed in more men for the betterment of the world.

In the midst of the religious ferment, foreign invasions, and internal political strife that beset Italy before the full effects of the Counter-Reformation, the powerful and humble alike turned to popular prophecy for guidance and solace. Ottavia Niccoli examines here the forms of these prophecies--including interpretations of natural disasters, abnormal births, floods, and planetary conjunctions--and gives examples of how they were transmitted from the lower classes to the elite through street singers, apocalyptic preachers, astrologers, and printers. By tracing the ongoing revision of the prophecies, Niccoli reveals them as an indication of how various levels of society viewed events of the time, as a form of propaganda for such causes as anti-Lutheranism, and as a reflection of the interaction between "high" and "low" culture. Based on popular leaflets, diaries, civic chronicles, and iconographic sources, this book explores the expression of a culture in which nature, religion, and politics formed a unified system with a uniform code of interpretation. It connects the decline of prophecy in Italy with the end of the Italian wars and the beginning of the Counter-Reformation, when popular preaching was banned and charismatic religion discouraged.

Describes the history, culture, and life of people living during the Renaissance.

Analyzes texts and art objects from the 15th to the late 16th centuries to show that Renaissance theories of emulating classical heroes generated a deep skepticism about representation, as these theories forced men to construct a public image that seemed fixed but could adapt to changing circumstances.

A fascinating and counterintuitive portrait of the sordid, hidden world behind the dazzling artwork of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and more Renowned as a period of cultural rebirth and artistic innovation, the Renaissance is cloaked in a unique aura of beauty and brilliance. Its very name conjures up awe-inspiring images of an age of lofty ideals in which life imitated the fantastic artworks for which it has become famous. But behind the vast explosion of new art and culture lurked a seamy, vicious world of power politics, perversity, and corruption that has more in common with the present day than anyone dares to admit. In this lively and meticulously researched portrait, Renaissance scholar Alexander Lee illuminates the dark and titillating contradictions that were hidden beneath the surface of the period’s best-known artworks. Rife with tales of scheming bankers, greedy politicians, sex-crazed priests, bloody rivalries, vicious intolerance, rampant disease, and lives of extravagance and excess, this gripping exploration of the underbelly of Renaissance Italy shows that, far from being the product of high-minded ideals, the sublime monuments of the Renaissance were created by flawed and tormented artists who lived in an ever-expanding world of inequality, dark sexuality, bigotry, and hatred. The Ugly Renaissance is a delightfully debauched journey through the surprising contradictions of Italy’s past and shows that were it not for the profusion of depravity and degradation, history’s greatest masterpieces might never have come into being.

"Describes the social structure, customs, education, industry, amusements, and famous people of Renaissance Europe from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century." --

Real-life stories of struggle, achievement, victory, and sometimes loss that are an ideal companion for history, social science, language and geography studies. The Extroardinary People series is the perfect starter for students who want to know more about the people who shaped their world, focusing on the unique histories of people from every culture, and every walk of life.