Key Figures of the Renaissance

Leonardo da Vinci Considered to be one of the greatest

painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person to have ever lived› Sculptor, architect, scientist, inventor, engineer,

artist› The “Renaissance Man”

Known for› Mona Lisa› The Last Supper› Vitruvian Man

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mona_Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg

Michelangelo Sculptor, painter,

architect, engineer Known for

› Statue of David› Sistine Chapel Ceiling › The Last Judgment› Pieta

Raphael Painter and architect Known for

› The School of Athens› Frescos in the Vatican› Madonnas (paintings of the mother mary)

Johannes Gutenberg Invented movable type on the

printing press› Made printing much faster and

cheaper! The Bible = first major book to be

printed with movable type› People could now read it for

themselves and started to question the Church!

William Shakespeare Wrote many plays and sonnets during

the Golden Age of Queen Elizabeth in England

Plays were performed at the Globe› Only male actors

Known for works such as Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth etc.

Geoffrey Chaucer Author, poet, philosopher Often called the Father of English

Literature One of the first writers to write in the

vernacular Known for his work The Canterbury

Tales

Sir Thomas More English philosopher, humanist and

statesmen Wrote books: Utopia, and History of

King Richard III. Worked closely with Henry VIII who

later had him arrested and executed Is a Saint in the Catholic Church

Isabella D’Este Considered the First Lady of the

Renaissance Patron of the arts and a leader in

fashion Patron of arts for artists such as

Leonardo Da Vinci