Lorenzo de Medici especially helped doubling the art collection of the family and provided a liberal and generous material support for the artists. Moreover, his great critical thinking ensured that the true artistic values of the time were promoted. He constructed schools for painting and sculpture and monitored the artists that attended them in his search for artistic value. Under his rule, some of the greatest painters produced their greatest work entirely for him: "Verrocchio did almost all his work for him; that sculptor's graceful tomb in San Lorenzo over Lorenzo's father and uncle, his bronze David, and his fountain of the Boy with a Dolphin, were all executed for Lorenzo."(Young, 205) Botticelli's works in his second period were also produced in totality for Lorenzo the Magnificent. Another dimension of the family's influence over art is the fact that the atmosphere at the court clearly left its mark on the works of the artists. According to Young, this fact is easily identifiable in the works of Botticelli, who saw the change of the rule from Piero de Medici to Lorenzo: "When to the graver atmosphere of the time of Piero il Gottoso there succeeded all that season of youthful joy and light-heartedness which marked the first nine years of the rule of Lorenzo the Magnificent, this change in the spirit of the time caused a corresponding change in Botticelli's painting."(Young, 208) the overarching influence of the family is therefore obvious in the spirit that these nobles gave to the age. At that time of artistic patronage, the connection between the nobility and the artists, between the political life and the artistic one was very tight. Thus, the works of art were also influenced by the political leaders, especially since the paintings and literature were to a great extent realistic, and therefore inspired from the surrounding circumstances.
Thus, it can be argued that de Medici family played a crucial part in the artistic development of the Renaissance, especially since at that time the Renaissance art was in full bloom and at its greatest level of achievement: "The Renaissance in Art was now approaching the full blaze of its zenith. Every one of...
Cosimo De Medici We know all about the de Medici family - one of the most important dynastic families in Europe and in particular concerning the cultural and artistic life of Italy and so of the continent. And yet, as Dale Kent makes clear in her authoritative (and fascinating) account of the family and in particular of the life of Cosimo De'Medici, we actually know less about the family than we
Renaissance Art The relationship between patronage and art During Early and High Renaissance of Italy, it was through the vehicle of patronage was the key fashion in which an artist established his artistic identity as well as established himself economically. For instance, in considering Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus," it is important to remember that this vision is not an individualistic picture of a an artist living outside of his society. Rather,
Apart of this macroeconomic force of which he was a part, was a Europe-wide banking network that facilitated not only international trade, but also state making elsewhere. He financed the Florentine intellectual and artistic breakthroughs we now refer to as "the Renaissance." Cosimo's power was greatly respected, and by 1434 foreign princes went to Florence to work out international relations. Machiavelli, nearly a century later, still regarded the Medici family
Renaissance: A Comparison between the Italian and Northern European Renaissance World history is a fascinating subject, especially when one takes into account the multi-dimensional, often heavy impact changes that are constantly taking place, and that often change the course of history in a way in which it could have never been imagined. After the Dark Ages, for instance, the Renaissance or "rebirth," a period of artistic-related growth across Europe, was one
Renaissance was beginning to influence Italian painters in adapting their style in order for it to fit the needs of a more advanced world. Fra Angelico is recognized as one of the great early Italian painters from the Renaissance. In his work of decorating the Dominican Monastery of San Marco, he mastered a painting style that was reported to have been partly inspired from Masaccio, with his paintings expressing motion
Medici Regime In the 15th century, the most prominent family in the developed world was probably the Medici, whose wealth, power, and political connections kept them in power for many decades and even centuries. When examining the stability of this regime, however, several factors, including war and their connections with ethically questionable persons like Cosimo, it becomes clear that there were significant storms within the regime, echoing the turbulence of war. According
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