The Medici Family As Walt Disney once said, “It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true.” The Medici family demonstrated the importance of money to achieving one’s dreams during the rebirth of the Classical age. If the family had not gained the immense amount of wealth that they did, the creations of many famous Renaissance works of art and ideas would never have taken place. This would have resulted in a halt in the advancements of culture, thus, keeping people fixed in a period of Dark Ages. The funding from the Medici bank sparked a change in art, society, and politics that would shatter the standards of Medieval economy and result in the conversion from the Middle Ages to Renaissance times. The Medici family ruled Florence for …show more content…
In the year 1386, a young boy named Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello, was born. Donatello was a talented sculptor who quickly became friends with Cosimo de’ Medici likely due to their shared interest in the ancient world (Donatello). Donatello’s sculptures were popular due to their exceptional attention to detail and their lifelike form. In 1434 CE, Donatello created his most controversial work of art, the bronze “David” (refer to appendix A). It was the first life-sized male nude statue created since the Classical Era that defied the acceptable standards of art at the time and was a clear expression of Donatello’s homosexuality, an illegal practicea practice that was illegal in the Catholic Church (Strathern 52). However, under Cosimo’s protection, artists, such as Donatello, were “encouraged to exercise their ‘artistic temperament” meaning they did not need to worry about their own safety and well-being (Donatello). Donatello never cared about the money that he earned, so he would give away any money that he gained (Vasari). Inevitably he became impecunious, so “when he got old and could not work, he was supported by Cosimo and his friends” until he passed away in 1466 (Vasari). Once Donatello became a client to Cosimo, he ensured his financial stability, thus giving him the freedom to produce dangerous pieces of art that could otherwise get him into a large amount of trouble. Donatello’s sculptures are some of the most admired pieces of Renaissance art, but without the patronage of the Medici family, Donatello most likely would have been exiled or executed for his homosexuality, dead from the lack of money or starvation, or never gained enough popularity to shape his
During the Renaissance we noticed big changes every such as art, economics, culture, religion and many more. One thing that didn’t change though was a strong leader so that his people/nation can strive. Lorenzo de Medici however, was not the strong leader . He ruled with his intelligence he got from a young age and put his people first more than himself. Machiavelli did not believe this was the right way of ruling and to prove to Lorenzo he knew what he was talking about he decided to write the book called The Prince.
Lorenzo de’ Medici was a powerful and extremely wealthy Italian statesman. In effect, he was the ruler of the Florentine Republic. The Medici family itself had gained great wealth in their era as bankers and captains of industry. They controlled just about every aspect of local society through their monopoly on the monetary
It can destroy civilizations, and tear them apart or if used wisely can create great prosperity. It all comes down to a person's worldview of what success means to them. During this time period of innovation in the Renaissance, the main focus was to make connections between other powerful forces. For example, some would reach for power within a well-established institution like the Catholic Church. While others would reach for economic power, which is how the Medici family utilized banking to become one of the most powerful families in Florence.
Women’s Roles Compared to Men’s in the Renaissance The Renaissance has been considered a period of rebirth and renewal. From 1350 to 1550 men made new discoveries in art and politics, but women’s roles did not grow or evolve much at all. Most historians concur that the Renaissance was a time of rebirth for men rather than women because men were the rulers of everything ,women were seen as prizes, and they were excluded from opportunities that men had.
There are some estimates that the Medici family were the wealthiest family in Europe for a time. From this base, they acquired political power initially
Reign is a historical romance television series set in the mid 16th century. It is based on the true story of headstrong monarch Mary Stuart, the young teen the world would come to know as Mary, Queen of Scots. The show revolves mainly around Mary, but also around two other important queens ruling during this era, Catherine De Medici and Elizabeth I. It details the secret history of survival at French Court amidst fierce foes, dark forces, and a world of sexual intrigue.
The patronage of the arts by wealthy merchants was a key factor in the development of the Renaissance. Secondly, the crisis created a sense of disillusionment with the established institutions of the time, such as the Church and the monarchy. This led to a questioning of traditional beliefs and ideas, and a renewed interest in classical learning. The rediscovery of classical texts and ideas was a central essence of the Renaissance.
During the Renaissance, all that had came from the middle ages had started to change, they wanted new things. This opened up change for art, stance on religion and many more changes that the Renaissance needed. Except some things just can’t be replaced, which is a strong leadership so he can lead his people or country to victory no matter the task. Lorenzo de Medici, however, was not that man. He relied on kindness and intelligence to lead his people, which was not always the right choice.
He while he was a sort of Stateman, he was more Kennedy than Roosevelt but without the high level administrative wit either of them had. That never hid, they that had it all, he was a made man, and he did not need to report to anyone, the kind a man a person could admire. I grew up in a low-income area where you always thought about making it big and while Lorenzo de’ Medici was not from a poor family by a long shot that is that kind of man you wanted to be. You would see men
Michelangelo once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free”. If Michelangelo actually did this with every sculptor could modern artist be doing the same thing to follow in his footsteps. Michelangelo’s artwork affects modern society by influencing many modern-day artists to become sculptors, painters and more. He also influenced types of art such as frescoes and ceiling paintings. To add to this his sculptures are discussed in today’s conversations.
At age 17, Michelangelo had begun to dissect corpses from the local church graveyard to gain a much deeper understanding of the human body. Michelangelo had to be extremely cautious when examining corpses seeing as the act was strictly banned by the church, making the act illegal. Nonetheless, Michelangelo still had an amazing understanding of the human body and its proportions were extremely critical to his success rate as a sculptor and artist. Michelangelo’s incredibly realistic sculptures showed finely chiseled veins, wrinkles, muscles, bones, and nerves. Such skill was and still is unsurpassed till this day in the 21st century.
The Medici family started out as doctors operating in a rural town north of Florence. When Giovanni Di Micci de 'Medici founded the first Medici bank in 1397, it became the most successful bank in Florence and started their rise to power. After his death, the eldest of Giovanni’s two sons, Cosimo, took control of the bank in 1434. Under Cosimo’s leadership the Medici’s managed the wealth of Europe’s royalty and the Medici bank grew into the largest banking house in Europe. Before long they came to have branches in Geneva, London, Naples, Avignon, Bruges, Rome, Venice and Milan and many correspondent banks.
Catherine de Medici was a powerful woman in the Renaissance era. Perhaps one of the most powerful regents to date. She tore through France in the 1500’s and left a direct effect on the men and women around her. Catherine went against the known system by vicariously ruling through King Henry II . Catherine de Medici was significant to history because she ruled France as a powerful regent for nearly thirty years, she was partly responsible for the horrors of the French wars of Religion, and she was a very profitable patron.
David is a topic from the Old Testament, which is widely repeated and done by many artists. David is a story where it shows that not only does strength wins in a battle but also wits. Each artist depicts David in different views and moments, like Michelangelo who is an Italian sculptor painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance, another is Gian Lorenzo Bernini who is an Italian architect and sculptor, and he was credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. Although both artists depicted David, but each one had different style where Bernini’s is more expressive then Michelangelo’s. Looking at both sculptures of David, there are some similarities which can be noticed.
With the help of the increasing wealthy class, money had been abundant to spend. The wealthy and powerful merchant class promoted cultural rebirth, and their interests helped shape the Italian Renaissance (Ellis 336). Merchants and the rich were patrons and had donated to artists, which had given artists enough funds to create art. Renaissance artists portrayed religious figures including Jesus and Mary and often set figures up with Roman and Greek backgrounds (Ellis 338). Not only had money changed Renaissance art, it had also how the merchant class was viewed.