The Italian Renaissance: science and anatomy

History

In this unit, pupils studied the emergence and impact of new ideas which occurred during the Renaissance. In 'Henry VIII and the Reformation: how unusual was the English Reformation?', pupils will continue to interrogate the significance of new ideas but in the context of religious diversification in Europe.

In 'The Christian Church: how completely did the Great Schism transform Christendom?', pupils saw how dominant Christianity was in medieval culture. In this unit, pupils will be able to understand how the Renaissance led to some challenges against the teachings of the Church but did not completely overcome the Church's dominant influence.

In this unit, pupils learn about the Renaissance by examining its material culture. They study various artefacts of the Renaissance and compare the Northern and Italian Renaissances. Throughout, pupils reflect on what evidence about the Renaissance can be taken from these sources.

The Renaissance: what do the artefacts of the Renaissance tell us about it?

Depiction or discussion of nudity (including in historic content).

The study of the human body and how it functions is called...

Leonardo da Vinci was especially interested in human...

Ancient Greeks and Romans produced theories about the natural world.

Early Renaissance humanists rediscovered classical knowledge.

The printing press spread rediscovered knowledge across Europe.

A 'Scientific Revolution' built on classical knowledge.

Starting with the earliest, place these events in chronological order.

Copernicus' work directly attacked the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Galileo's attempts to improve Copernicus' work led to his trial by the Church.

Copernicus' argued that the Sun and other celestial bodies orbited the Earth.

Which of these statements best describes the controversy surrounding Copernicus' work.

Vesalius conducted numerous dissections of live animals (vivisections)

Vesalius did not conduct the dissections himself, and just described the process

Vesalius conducted the dissections himself, rather than a barber-surgeon 

Vesalius' dissections were allowed by the Church

Why were Vesalius' dissections different to many others that had been performed up to that point?

Individual pages of anatomy books were known as {{}} sheets.

Renaissance artists were inspired by the classical worlds of...

Match the painting technique to its description.

Da Vinci's painting of {{}} del Giocondo uses the technique known as sfumato.

They helped him to make his paintings more realistic.

They helped him to calculate the size of his canvases.

They helped him to calculate how much paint he would need.

How did the use of new mathematical principles help da Vinci in his paintings?

Before it was rebuilt, St Peter's {{}} was 1200 years old.

Which of these ancient buildings did the new St Peter's take inspiration from?

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of nudity

Adult supervision recommended

Introduction

What will you need for this lesson?

Are you ready to learn?

Content guidance

Supervision

Worksheet