The Role Of Wealth In The Renaissance

The Renaissance era was noted to be an era of discoveries, wealth and great fortune. Most of Italy’s cities became wealthy through trade accessed through waterways around the country. The wealth of these merchants clearly influenced as well as supported new artist, writers, and philosophers. Among these wealthy merchant families was the Medici Family, whose wealth was in banking. During the early period of Renaissance Era the Medici Family’s wealth/contributions and support establish them as one of the most influential patrons of the arts/literature and intellectual learning. Their ability to contribute money supported such well known artist as Michelangelo and Raphael, writers such as Niccolo Machiavelli who is well known for his work The

Consequently, this devastation would contributed to the discovery of a “New” kind of wealth. A new wealth in which some of the survivors found themselves better off financially and socially, given that the same wealth would be spread among fewer people, and the benefit/advantage would be the opportunity of climbing the social ladder. (Wilde) Furthermore, the most influential discovery of the renaissance arose in a new form of thinking, known as, Humanism which is described as both a product of the movement and a cause. Humanist thinker would begin to challenge previously dominant school of scholarly thought, known as Scholasticism, as well as the church, allowing the new mindsets/thoughts of Humanism to form the basis/foundation of the Renaissance which in turn allowed people to patronize artist. (Wilde) This intellectually movement would have much influence on art, the artist point of view, as well as the reintroduction of classical works, to political theories, new schools for learning and new wealth. Today, we can see the patron of Art in museum, exhibits and