In this century art painting techniques evolve, getting the "perspective", and in sculpture comes an improvement based on the imitation of classical Greek and Roman art. Even in architecture there was a return to the lines of Roman monuments.
Lorenzo de' Medici encouraged a lot of his countrymen to commission works from Florence's leading artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo Buonarroti.
The best artists (after the genius of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti, who worked mainly during the Cinquecento) of this period are:
In Literature the Quattrocento is famous mainly because of Niccolò Machiavelli and Ludovico Ariosto. Indeed, the fundamental characteristic of this literary epoch is that it perfected itself in every kind of art, in particular uniting the essentially Italian character of its language with classicism of style. This period lasted until about a few years after 1494 when Charles VIII of France descended into Italy, marking the beginning of Italy's foreign domination and political decadence.
The famous literary men of the Quattrocento had been educated in the culture created in the preceding century. Niccolò Machiavelli was born in 1469, Michelangelo Buonarroti and Ludovico Ariosto in 1474, Jacopo Nardi in 1476, Gian Giorgio Trissino in 1478, Francesco Guicciardini in 1482, Pietro Pomponazzi in 1462, Marcello Adriani Virgilio in 1464 and Baldassare Castiglione in 1468.
The Renaissance music of Quattrocento was centered around Bartolomeo da Bologna. Indeed, after the "Burgundian School" came to an end, Italy became the leading exponent of Renaissance music and continued its innovation with the Venetian and (somewhat more conservative) Roman Schools of composition.
Wartburg Castle
The Wartburg is a castle on a 1230-foot (410-m) cliff to the southwest of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. In 1999 UNESCO added Wartburg Castle to the World Heritage List as an "Outstanding Monument of the Feudal Period in Central Europe" because of its "Cultural Values of Universal Significance".
The castle's foundation was laid in about 1068 by the Thuringian count of Schauenburg, Louis the Springer. He was a relative of the Counts of Rieneck in Franconia. Together with its larger sister castle Neuenberg in the present-day town of Freyburg, the Wartburg protected the borders of his territories.
The castle ("Burg" in German) reportedly got its name when its founder first saw the hill where the castle now sits; he is supposed to have said, ""Warte, Berg -- du sollst mir eine Burg tragen!"" ("Wait, mountain -- you shall bear a castle for me!"). It is a German play on words for mountain ("Berg") and fortress ("Burg").
The Wartburg remained the seat of the Thuringian landgraves until 1440, and around 1207 it became the place of the "Sängerkrieg", or Minstrels' Contest. Later, Richard Wagner wrote the opera Tannhäuser about the contest.
At the age of four, St. Elisabeth of Hungary was sent by her mother to the Wartburg to be raised to become the wife of Ludwig IV of Thuringia. From 1211 to 1228, she lived there and did charitable work. When her husband died in 1227, she moved to Marburg. She died at the age of 24 and later was canonized (made a saint) by the Roman Catholic Church.
From May 1521 until March 1522, Martin Luther stayed at the castle, after Frederick the Wise had him taken there for his safety. This was after Luther's excommunication by Pope Leo X and his refusal to give up his beliefs at the Diet of Worms. During this time, Luther translated the New Testament into German. It was not the first German translation of the Bible but it became the most well known and most used.
From 1540 until his death in 1548, Fritz Erbe, an Anabaptist farmer from Herda, was held as a prisoner in the dungeon of the south tower, because he refused to give up his beliefs. After his death, he was buried in the Wartburg near the chapel of St. Elisabeth.
On 18 October 1817, the first Wartburg festival took place. About 450 students, members of the German Burschenschaften ("fraternities"), celebrated the German victory over Napoleon that happened four years before, condemned conservatism and called for German unity. Scraps of parchment with the titles of conservative books were burned, because the actual books were very expensive. This event and similar gatherings at Wartburg during the Revolutions of 1848 are considered important events in the movement for German unification.
The Castle has been restored many times. From 1952 to 1966, for example, the East German Government restored it to what it looked like in the 16th century.
The Romanesque "Palas" ("Landgrafenhaus" or Great Hall) is the oldest part of the buildings. Besides the chapel, it has the Sängersaal (Hall of the Minstrels) and the Festsaal (the Feast or Festival Hall), both of which have frescoes by Moritz von Schwind.
Part of the palace is the original castle as it was between 1157 and 1170.
The castle gate behind the drawbridge is the only way to access the Castle, and it has remained exactly as it was when it was built.
The Knights' House on the western side of the drawbridge is from the 15th century. It is probably where the servants and guards lived.
There are two towers, the South Tower (made in 1318) and the bergfried (finished in 1859).
For centuries, many people from Germany and from outside Germany have made pilgrimages to the Wartburg. They do this because of its significance in German history and in the development of Christianity. Several places (especially US towns founded by Lutherans) and a local brand of automobile have been named after the Wartburg. Wartburg College in Iowa, USA, is named after the Wartburg because Martin Luther received protection at the castle, and because of the college's Thuringian heritage.
Max Baucus
Max Sieben Baucus (born December 11, 1941) is an American politician. He was the United States Ambassador to China from 2014 through 2017. He served as a United States Senator from Montana from December 15, 1978 until February 6, 2014. On that date, he was made Ambassador. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was Montana's longest-serving U.S. senator.
Baucus was born on December 11, 1941 in Helena, Montana. He studied at Stanford University. Baucus was married to Ann Geracimos from 1982 until they divorced in the same year. Then he was married to Wanda Minge from 1984 until they divorced in 2009. He has been married to Melodee Hanes since 2011. He has one son, Zeno, with Geracimos.
Baucus announced on April 23, 2013 that he would retire from the U.S. Senate at the end of his term. His term was set to end in 2015. However, he was made United States Ambassador to China by Barack Obama in 2013. He resigned on February 6, 2014, before finishing his final term as senator. Baucus was succeeded by John Walsh, the former Lieutenant Governor of Montana.
John Cornyn
John Cornyn III (born February 2, 1952) is the senior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2002. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is the current Senate Majority Whip for the 115th Congress. Cornyn was Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2007-2011.
Cornyn was born in Houston, Texas on February 2, 1952. His family moved to Tokyo, Japan. He studied at Trinity University and St. Mary's University School of Law. He received his LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law. Cornyn and his wife Sandy have two daughters.
Saxby Chambliss
Clarence Saxby Chambliss (born November 10, 1943) is a former American politician. He served as a United States Senator of Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative (1995–2003).
On January 25, 2013, Chambliss announced that he would not be running for a third term.