In this episode, I chat with Ian Billig about Galileo Galilei and the development of Renaissance science.  Ian, skilled in physical sciences and mathematics, as well as a self-taught classicist, walks us through the development of classical natural philosophy through Galileo, and how this translates into our concept of modern science. 

Who was Galileo and what did his work entail? What was the state of science during the Renaissance? How do we distinguish natural philosophy from science? What are the consequences of Galileo on modernity? All of these questions are answered, and more!

To read Ian Billig et al.: Bibcode: 2020APS..DNP.SJ006C (access permission may be limited)
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The Florentine Renaissance Course

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Let's talk Michelangelo! This episode covers the essential beginning of Michelangelo's life and career, from his training to his first major commission. His life is a complicated one, though it is a story to tell full of drama and scandal. This discussion focuses primarily on Michelangelo as a student , from the workshop of Ghirlandaio to the Medici Garden under Lorenzo the Magnificent.
 
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The Florentine Renaissance Course

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Undoubtedly one of the most well-known Renaissance figures, Leonardo da Vinci has ascended beyond the realm of artist, appearing more as mythic or legendary. This episode explores not only how that came to be, but also why it is important that we look at his life with a touch of scrutiny in order to better understand Leonardo as he was, rather than how he was mythologized.

This episode likewise covers some essential information on Leonardo's life, his training, and his intent focus of reproducing Nature, and what he called the science of painting.

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The Florentine Renaissance Course

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We are very pleased to welcome our first guest for this episode, Gee Cooper. Gee works for the National Trust, specializing in the history and conservation of English country houses, primarily Claydon House and Uppark. With a thorough grasp on all of the major architectural intricacies of these houses, Gee and I discuss the lasting impact of the Renaissance architectural style of Andrea Palladio, and how the 18th century English country house proliferated a Palladian revival in relation to contemporary Neoclassic trends. 

Andrea Palladio served the Venetian Republic as one of its most important architects from 1508 to 1580. His most famous works still stand today in Venice, Vicenza, and other parts of northern Italy. For Palladio, the primary inspiration for architectural design was Vitruvius, who wrote his architectural treatise in the first century B.C.E. This book was a major influence during the Renaissance, coming to print in 1486. As we will discuss, the impact of Vitruvius extends beyond Palladio, to the great English architects of the 1700’s.

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*We are still working out audio issues through Zoom recording. Apologies and thanks. * 

The Florentine Renaissance Course

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This episode takes a glance at the general history around the infamous Pazzi Conspiracy that culminated over the Florentine Easter festivities in April of 1478, leading to the gruesome murder of Giuliano de' Medici, and the blood bath that followed. Happy Easter!

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Using Donatello's David, this episode seeks to analyze and interpret the highly debated complications of this famous bronze. This work is an emblem of sculpture as political, subversive, and multi-layered. Through it, we can learn the general modes of analysis of Italian Renaissance sculpture in the Quattrocento.

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The Florentine Renaissance Course

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This episode details the basics of the Italian Renaissance painting, covering medium and contracts, color and composition, and the culture and structure around them. Using Renaissance rock stars like Leonardo da Vinci, Ghirlandaio, and Raffaele, this talk demonstrates the complex structures around the development and changes of the general Renaissance painting in the 14/1500's.  

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The Florentine Renaissance Course

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What is the Renaissance? It was a movement shaped by the intersection of civic life, humanist learning, and artistic experimentation in Italy. In this introductory podcast, we trace how humanists revived classical texts and reshaped ideas about education, ethics, and public culture. The discussion highlights how Florence’s political competition, banking wealth, and strong civic identity created fertile conditions for new forms of creativity. These forces directly influenced breakthroughs in art and architecture, including naturalism, perspective, and a new intellectual role for the artist. Overall, the episode presents the Renaissance as a gradual cultural transformation driven by intertwined civic, literary, and artistic developments.

Texts Mentioned: 

Jacob Burckhardt, The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, 1860

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