Medici Family and the Renaissance

Medici Family and the Renaissance Art

Italian Renaissance was a period of extreme flourish for all the arts as well as for culture itself. It is often considered to be a period of increased awareness and illumination by comparison with the previous dark age, the Middle Ages. The period was marked by a renewed interest for ancient Roman and Greek models paired with a notable advancement in science and philosophy. The great names of the Italian Renaissance speak by themselves for the cultural rebirth that began in the fourteenth century in Italy. Among them there are painters Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci or Botticelli and writers like Petrarch or Machiavelli. Notably, the great scholars and artists of the Renaissance were accomplished creators in various fields, from literature to philosophy, sculpture or architecture. Thus, the most important characteristic of Renaissance art is its versatility and opulence, with the compression of various fields of human knowledge into a single artistic object. An obvious example would be, for instance, Leonardo da Vinci's multivalent knowledge, which enabled him to incorporate notions and studies of human anatomy into his portraits and drawings.

This new awareness for art and culture could hardly have taken such scope over the epoch, had it not been encouraged by the most influential and rich men of the time. The patronage of the arts was a common practice during the Renaissance. The great artists whether poets, musicians, painters or architects were supported by royalties and even by pontiffs. All the great artists of the Renaissance lived and worked under the patronage of a great political figure. This fact only served to emphasize the importance given to arts during the Renaissance, as the great nobility was expected to support and encourage its development. The royal courts as well as the domains of the aristocrats were gathering places for artists and scholars. During the Renaissance therefore, art was an important part of social life as well. Renaissance was thus a time when the political figures fully supported and encouraged the development of the arts. This singular fact contributed immensely to the artistic rebirth seen at that time.

One of the greatest and most influential centers for Renaissance in Italy was Florence. Probably the best known patrons of art in this province were the Medici, a family that governed Florence for approximately fifteen years. The role that this great aristocratic family played in the history of art is hard to assess correctly. Giovanni de Medici, Cosimo de Medici as well as Lorenzo all played essential roles in the development of art and science during the Renaissance. Lorenzo, also called Lorenzo the Magnificent, is particularly known to have been an enlightened humanist who supported the progress of art. The role of the Medici family as a patron of arts was not limited to the actual support and sponsorship that these nobles provided for the great artists of the day. Their patronage certainly enabled the artists to produce works that would have probably not existed otherwise. More than that however, the Medici nobles were themselves enlightened thinkers with unfailing critical taste. Thus, the artists that they encouraged and supported are among the greatest names of the Renaissance period. As G.F. Young observes, the artistic taste of the Medici family was unerring: "The unerring taste in Art which the Medici as a family possessed is evidenced by the fact that no painter or sculptor of that age is to be found whose work is recognized now as of high excellence yet who was not appreciated by the Medici. They never made a mistake in such matters. To this unerring taste on their part Florence owes it that while the art collections of Rome, accumulated by the Popes, are greater in quantity, those of Florence -- almost entirely the private collections of the Medici -- surpass those of Rome in quality."(Young, 205) Thus, the Medici family did not only contribute materially to the development of art during the Renaissance, but was also responsible for the aesthetic selection of the works and artists that are now considered representative for that period. Among the greatest names they promoted were Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Donatello and Galileo.

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.