THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE

CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE:

1. No one can say exactly when the Middle Ages ended and the Renaissance began.
2. There are varied explanations as to why it occurred first in Italy and some historians claim it
actually occurred in other places e.g France before Italy.
3. Opinions differ on such issues as whether it was an age of brilliant individualism and change or
was it an age of imitation or whether it was a continuity of trends already established in the
Middle Ages.
So, by Renaissance Italy we mean Florence, Rome, Venice, Milan and perhaps 20 or 30 other towns;
we might do well to refer to the rest of the country in this period as late medieval or early modern
Italy Ferguson

Marsilio Ficino, a humanist, 1492 This century, like a golden age, has restored a light to the arts,
which almost disappearedachieving what had been honoured amongst the ancient people.

The Renaissance was an explosive period in European history that began in Italy in the 15
th
century
as a reaction to medieval values. I. Hill

The inertia of the Middle Ages was followed by a period of brilliant individualism in the
Renaissance. J. H Plumb

Not all sectors of the population participated equally in Renaissance culture which was produced by
and for an educated and privileged elite. Left out were the poor, the peasants, and the workers, and
especially women. B. Kohl & J. Smith

MEANING OF THE TERM RENAISSANCE:
- Traditional view was that Renaissance meant rebirth or revival.
- The narrowest interpretations would describe the Renaissance as the renewal of classical
language (Latin & Ancient Greek) and scholarship, or of scientific knowledge, or as an artistic
regeneration.
- The regeneration of the human spirit.
- Affected every day life but mostly of the elite.

TRADITIONAL VIEW:
- For centuries the Middle Ages were regarded as a period of a thousand years of cultural sterility.
- Traditionalists would have it that the revival of painting with Giotto and Cirnabue at the end of
the 13
th
century.
- The revival of sculpture with Nicolo Pisa in the 13
th
Century
- Revival of Italian literature with Dante and continued with Petrarch and Boccaccio and the revival
of classical languages in the 14
th
Century.
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
- General attitude was that Middle Ages was synonymous with darkness, and Renaissance with
revived classical glory still prevailed.
- JACOB BURKHARDT:
o Sees the Renaissance as being the period when modern life begins.
o Florence was the first modern state: Florentines are the pattern and the earliest type of
Italians and modern Europeans generally.
o Combination of a revival of Greek and Roman culture together with the natural ability of
the people of Italy.
o Burkhardt sees a number of reasons for interest in antiquity reviving in Italy rather than
elsewhere
Considers old civilization was never quite extinct in Italy.
Argues that Latin is akin to Italian and that it is therefore an easy language for
Italians to learn; he notes that numerous monuments and documents of antiquity
were still existent in Italy.
Considers that this was a period in which Italians discovered the world about them.
Italians in the geographic discoveries of the time: Columbus was a Genoese and
Marco Polo was a Venetian.
Considers that the Renaissance is set apart from the Middle Ages by the
development of individualism in contrast to the Middle Ages which emphasized
race, class or family.
Indeed Burkhardt believes that one of the greatest achievements of the
Renaissance was bringing to light the whole, full nature of man.

MODERN VIEWS OF THE MIDDLE AGES:
- Sharp distinct break between Medieval and Renaissance period.
- Medievalists such as Charles Romer Haskins and Lynn Thorndyke have attacked the conception of
the Renaissance as a sudden, dazzling revival of classical learning, rational thought and free
individualism.

THORNDIKES CRITICISMS:
- Considers that individualism is more characteristic of the Middle Ages than of the Renaissance.
- The Gothic architecture was an original creation whereas the architects of the Renaissance were
much influenced by Vitruvius, a Roman writer on architecture of the first century B.C.
- The claims that interest in nature is evidence of scientific advance during the Renaissance,
Thorndike contends that nature was closely observed in Medieval times.
- Argues that plants depicted in the sculptured decoration of the great Medieval cathedrals reveal
very accurate and detailed information.
HASKINS POINT OF VIEW:
- Haskin concedes that there was an Italian Renaissance in 15
th
Century but he considers that it was
rivaled by the achievements of what was called the Renaissance of the 12
th
Century.
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
- This Renaissance which Haskin sets squarely in the Middle Ages may be taken to embrace:
o The final flowering of Romanesque architecture.
o The development of Gothic architecture.
o The blossoming of vernacular poetry.
o The recovery of the works of the great poets and writers of ancient Rome.
o A renewed interest in the science and philosophy of ancient Greece.

CHANGES IN RENAISSANCE ART AND CULTURE:
- A rediscovery of classical civilization.
- An adoption of humanist ideas meant that art, culture and learning encompassed the use of
classical ideas and models of Ancient Greece and Rome.
- Architecture:
o Roman elements:
Columns
Pilasters
Semi circular arches
Classic ornament
o Known for:
Perfect balance
Symmetry
Simple proportions
Dignity
Refinement
Harmonious unity
Roman decorative motifs
- Emphasis was on the straight line.
- Important features included the dome, barrel vaults, semi-circular arches, imposing staircases and
classic orders.
- Architects used these classical models to develop a Renaissance style of architecture. Followed
Roman ideas about:
o Symmetry one side is a mirror image of the other.
o The shapes of buildings.
o The details and decoration on buildings.
- Also liked to show their great engineering skills by copying impressive features of Roman
buildings such as domes and arches
o Churches and cathedrals which had pointed arches, elaborate decoration, and towers
and spires.
o Castles which were built solidly with battlements and towers for defence.

PRIMAVERA AND THE BIRTH OF VENUS:
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
- Roman ruins are often depicted in Renaissance painting.
- Mythological figures and allegories from classical times abound in Botticellis Primavera and The
Birth of Venus.
o Depth
o Allegory of spring
o Brings back old religious conceptions
o Attention to detail i.e the 35 varieties of plants
o Pagan world
o There is movement in everything I.e. trees looking like theyre blowing the wind.
BOTTICELLI THREE GRACES:
- The Renaissance period placed great important on the human self, the revival of the human figure
from the classics, focusing on praise, beauty and the spirit of nature.
- The Florentine philosopher Pico della Mirandola There is nothing to be seen as more wonderful
than man.
- Botticellis Three Graces demonstrate this admirably and how Renaissance painting revived
classical interest in people, the human body and its movement, and in the natural world around
them.
Ancient: Detail to faces and emphasis on human body and the curvature of the skin. There is also
movement indicated by how their arms are positioned.
Medieval: Flat, lifeless, no emotion, not real, plain, neutral colours.
Renaissance: Brought back old conceptions of religion, detail in their faces and clothes.
Movement indicated.

SCULPTURE:
- Looked back to Ancient Greek and Roman statues for inspiration.
- Reflection of the classical forms that the Renaissance sculptors are said to have taken inspiration
from.
- Michelangelos David is said to be based on the classical figure of Hercules, Greek and Roman
god of strength.
- Note that the story of David and goliath is a biblical one, hence there is a combination of pagan
and Christian virtues, a characteristic of the Renaissance.
- The statue of Bacchus, also by Michelangelo, was in Greek and Roman mythology, the god of
wine and vine.
- The satyr behind Bacchus is based on classical mythology.
- Classical statue:
o Realistic style for statues.
o Marble statues of a discus thrower was life size and thought to have been a copy of a
statue from about 450 BC by the Greek sculptor Myron.
- Religious statues; France 1215:
o Relief
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
o Flat
o Emotionless
o No detail
o Not accurate in terms of anatomy
- DAVID MICHELANGELO 1501-1504:
o Uses developed, more muscular forms to create a powerful physical presence in the
spirit of a giant-slaying hero and future king.
o Face of David emphasizes this idea of power and strength/fairness through its watchful
and anticipatory expression frowning with intense concentration.
o Expression is matched by the almost stationary pose; he seems pensive yet alert with
the loaded slingshot held lightly over one shoulder as he goes into the distance.
- MONA LISA:
o Greater expression of human emotions e.g. Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa.
o Behind her is a landscape and the original painting was cut down by a few centimeters
in the 16
th
century.
o Leonardo only made her sit for the preliminary sketches and hired clowns and
musicians to amuse her.
o As a result, his models body and gaze are very much alive.
o Even if one uses a magnifying glass, one cannot see a single brush stroke, not a line,
not a contour.
- REALISM:
o Extremely important to Italian artists whether it was feeling the pain of Christ or
mourning of the virgin in Michelangelos Pieta or the stupefied pose of Michelangelos
Bacchus.
o Essential for artists to address and capture.
o Artists capturing a scene wanted to convey an instantaneous sense of being there and
one people could relate to.
o Tied to realism was a rediscovery of nature and a great naturalism is shown in the
anatomy of the human body.
o For example, Michelangelo in the Sistine Chap fresco shows humans in their natural
state with nude males.
o Leonardo da Vincis Vitruvian Man likewise shows the anatomical knowledge of the
human body and proportion.
o An increased knowledge and use of proportion and perspective in the Renaissance
period e.g. The Tribute Money and Brunelleschis architecture.
- MASSACIOS TRIBUTE MONEY:
o Paintings had perspective through convergence.
o The right shows a building and the left shows the countryside which provides a real
space for the figures to inhabit.
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
o Massacio imagined a single source of light coming from the right and throwing
consistent shadows.
o Christ and his apostles are painted with great dignity, dressed like Ancient Roman
senators.
o The figures convince us they are real because Massacio has imagined skeletons with
muscles determining the way their robes fall.
o Facial expression shows psychological insight, seriousness and dignity.
- PAINTINGS COLOUR
o Colour becomes more vibrant in Renaissance paintings.
o Medieval paintings tended to be more somber in colour and themes depicting
religious fervor.
o David Commissioned by Piero de Medici from Donatello. This sculpture of David is
in Bronze and sculpted around 1460s. When this was sculpted it was the first of its
kind in 800 years.

HUMANISM: Study of the classics.
The word humanist in relation to our study is given the usual definition of being a person
dedicated to studying the ancient civilization of Greece and Rome. Hole

Humanism denotes something quite specific: an educational and cultural program based on
the study of the classics (the writes of ancient Greece and Rome) and coloured by the notion of
human dignity. Rice

Humanism was the main intellectual movement of the Renaissance since the very essence
of the Renaissance was the concept of the rebirth of the knowledge of the ancient world. Hole

Thus humanism was a broad movement which brought changes to the inspiration of intellectual
life and to the art and culture of society in the Renaissance. Humanism involved a clearly defined
education curriculum based on The studia humanitas

- Involved a shift from scholarly discipline to an emphasis on man and his own involvement in life.
- Traditional religion subjects of art and literature are maintained but with a new and different
emphasis on mans relationship to God and his own spiritual life.
- Renaissance scholars and artists worked within a Christian context.
- R. Hole: Their interest in the Ancient World did not mean they flirted with religion.
- It involved a classical revival.
- Necessary to study and imitate the classics in art and literature.
- There was an emergence of an increasing amount of secular (worldly) subject matter in art and an
emphasis on man living his life to the full and reaching his potential.
- Increasing amount of portraiture in art, evidence of increasing emphasis on individualism.
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
- Humanism encouraged the development of the Renaissance as an archetypal all-rounder.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANISM:
- Development of trade, manufacturing and banking contributed to the wealth of the elite in Italy.
- The new class of people in Florence (popolo grasso) looked to the classics for idea on how to
govern and live their lives.
- Rhetoric was seen as valuable in Florence for political purposes.
- Humanist philosophy and beliefs suited the desire for and acquisition of wealth.
- In the Medieval period, poverty was the ideal whereas the humanists argued that wealth was
necessary and advisable.
- Historians have argued that the proximity and visibility of classical remains of the Roman Empire
added stimulus to the Renaissance movement and classical rebirth.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF HUMANISM (DIFFERENT STAGES)
LITERARY HUMANISM:
- Studies the ancient masters such as Cicero, and sought to write elegant Latin prose of similar style
and quality.
- Petrarch The Literary Humanist (1304-1374):
o Anthony Molho: Thanks to him, all sides of antiquity gained widespread acceptance
and popularity among important Italians. Petrarch it can be said, without much
exaggeration, singlehandedly revived interest in the classics.
o His widespread influence can be associated with his liking for travel.
o He visited a number of Europes main towns and resided in several Italian city states.
o He was friendly with the Visconti despots of Milan and was well received in Naples.
o Thus there appears to be a link between a revival in classical studied and a belief in
the importance of the individual man.
CIVIC HUMANISM:
- The element of applying the attitudes of the ancient civilization to the problems of government
and society of Renaissance Italy.
- Considered that man should be active in human affairs and that the lessons derived from the
study of the ancient civilizations should be implemented.
- Could be described as philosophers in action.
- An example of their attitude is their disapproval of monasticism.
- In medieval times, to withdraw from the world to a life of prayer would have been praiseworthy,
but Salutati would have none of it he declared.
PLATONIC HUMANISM:
- Involved the study of the works of Plato, the Greek philosopher.
- It is said that Cosimo de Medici met a visiting scholar, Gemistus Plethon from Constantinople, and
was so impressed with his exposition of Platos philosophy, that he decided to set up an
institution in Florence for studying Platos work.
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
- Aspect of Platos thinking most dwelt upon by Ficino and associated scholars, was the clean line
drawn by the philosopher between matter and spirit.
- The former was considered evil; latter was good; being derived from God.

IMPACT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANISM:
- Renaissance was the period when mens minds were sharpened and awakened.
- Opposed to how some characterized the Middle Ages as a crude era in which learning was
lacking, people vulgar in speech and ignorant of Latin.
- More and more classical texts were collected, edited and made available to those educated
enough to read them.
- They could be consulted in new libraries founded by patrons such as Cosimo de Medici.
- Clerics and noblemen spent fortunes to find and copy great works and to make them available
to the public.
- The Duke of Urbino kept 40 scribes busy for 14 years.

RENAISSANCE LEARNING:
- During the Renaissance, to get rich and to stay rich required a relatively high standard of
education.
- First and foremost, this education was utilitarian: a man could not be successful in commerce
and industry without knowing how to read and write and being skillful at figures.
- The ways of the Renaissance meant more partnership agreements, more complicated wills, more
conveyancing in short, more law.
- Legal studies boomed steadily throughout the Renaissance.
- As the city-states grew, the business of government became more complicated, creating a
demand for a well-educated secretariat at home and for diplomats who could speak with
persuasion and eloquence abroad.
- The Renaissance called for a more practical kind of education than the one provided by the
theological studies of the Middle Ages.
- The humanistic programme involved the readings of ancient authors and the study of such
subjects such as grammar, rhetoric, history and moral philosophy.
- Coluccio Salutati and Leonardo Bruni provide an example of how scholarship and active
participation were to be combined as a feature of learning and education in Florence.
- It became fashionable to write in Latin.
- Not only did Renaissance scholars try to write in Latin but they went to great extremes to
translate into Latin, restore ancient texts and copy their style and ideas.
- Education began at home and town life was thought to be more intellectual, more satisfying
than rural life.
o The city maketh the man, the countryside the side. Alberti.

FINAL COMMENTS ON HUMANIST EDUCATION:
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
- Classical education was a practical education.
- Aim of education was to teach man to be a perfect citizen.
- Learning was not looked upon as a withdrawal from public life.
- Sound judgement, wisdom of speech and integrity of conduct are the result of humanist
education.
- A basic humanist concept was that the fundamental aim of education was to make people
perfect citizens.
- Humanists were conscious of the value of their learning in that it brought reputation and
distinction.
- In social life humanists sought to develop powers of conversation and a dignified bearing.
- To be articulate, to be able to contribute to polite conversation was well reserved.

THE ROLE OF PATRONAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RENAISSANCE CULTURE:
- The interest in the promotion of Renaissance painting, sculpture and architecture by patrons led
to their impact on urban centres in Italy.
- Betty Malone claims that: In all ages, the wealth and influence of the powerful are the tools of
patronage.
- Late in the Renaissance patronage shifted to more patronage by individuals than other
corporations.



TYPES OF PATRONAGE IN URBAN CENTRES IN ITALY:
Patronage by Church Men:
- Renaissance popes were intent on establishing Rome as the seat of glory and the home of
learning.
- The Pope funded art in the form of painting, sculptures, writings and the translation of Ancient
Roman and Greek writings.
- The pope funded (patronized/commissioned)
o Ghiberti A gold miter weighing fifteen pounds with jewels worth 30,000 ducats
including six pearls the size of hazel nuts.
o Nicholas V A scholar who favored learned men and had many Greek works
translated into the Roman tongue.
o Sixtus IV Nicolas Jenson was a famous French painter.
o School of Men
Raphael masterpiece.
Symbolizes philosophic thinking and the search for truth.
Raphael has represented distinguished Greek philosophers such as Plato,
Aristotle, Socrates and Euclid.
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
The placing of each figure and each group combine to make perfect harmony,
order and balance.
No crowding.
The fresco has depth and Roman arches.
Court Patronage:
- Developed when a prince or king ruled a city.
- In Italy, the Sforza, the DEste, the Visconti and other fellow dukes and despots hired celebrated
artists, architects, musicians and scholars to their courts with the aim of promoting their rule
through praise and propaganda.
- The Kings soon realized the value of printing to fortify monarchial power and patronized editors
and printers.
Guild Patronage:
- An old source of patronage that remained important in the 15
th
century.
- Florences Guild:
o Ghiberti created a statue of St Matthew for the Bankers guild.
o Donatello fashioned statues of St Peter, St George and St Mark for the Butchers, the
Armourers and the Linen Drapers of the town.
o The Baptistry doors on which Ghiberti worked for many years, were the gift of the
Goldsmiths and Sculptors to the Church (and indirectly to Florence.)
o The money required came from the Calamala Guild.
o In 1402, it organized a public competition for the sculpture of a new door.
o Ghiberti wrote that the Cloth guild, gave me permission to execute it in whatever way
I believed would result in the greatest perfection, the most ornamentation and the
greatest riches.
MAJOR ARCHITECTURAL LANDMARKS THAT FLORENTINE GUILDS PATRONISED:
The Orsanmichele:
- Both a chapel and a corn exchange.
- Constructed under the patronage of the combined guilds.
- Each of the 21 guilds was assigned a niche-like tabernacle in which the image of their Patron
Saint was portrayed. For example, Donatello created a statue of St George for Armorers Guild.
The Foundling Hospital:
- Build by Brunelleschi for his own guild of silk manufacturers (Calimala).
- Goldsmiths changed the urban landscape serving as an inspiration.
PATRONAGE BY CITY GOVERNMENTS (CIVIC PATRONAGE) VENICE:
- Considered the wealthiest and most important patrons of the arts as their Signoria engaged
talent from all over Europe to paint portraits of their Doges and murals depicting the progress
and pageantry of their city.
- The Signoria at first attracted printers to Venice by granting them monopolies, but soon threw
the city open to anyone capable of setting up a good publishing business.

THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE

PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS AS PATRONS:
- The middle decades of the 15
th
Century, public subsidy of culture was declining.
- The role of the private patron and of a culture created exclusively for private needs, now
assumes greater importance than before.
- Private patrons were mostly wealthy merchants and or bankers as in the case of the fabulously
wealthy upper class banking family of the Medici in Florence.
THE BUILDINGS OF PALACES:
- Wealthy families in Florence contributed to the citys architectural features by the building of
family palaces.
- The 15
th
Century house was larger and showier than its 14
th
century counter part was.
- These palazzi were more ornate with carefully hewn stone and elaborate iron work.
- Doors, ceilings and fireplaces were highly finished.
- The more prominent families set off their furnishings with panel paintings and later with
sculptures.

THE MEDICI AS PATRONS:
- Their lavish patronage included wealth on palaces, landscape, gardens, tombs, statuary, painting,
music and humanist learning.
- At one end of the scale of family patronage is Cosimos gift of the Badia Library to the
Benedictine Abbey.
- This commissioned authorized Vespasiano Da Bisticci to employ 45 copyists who completed 200
books in 22 months.
NEW TECHNIQUE:
- Scholars rather than patrons initiated interest in classical literature.
- Perspective and the use of mathematical harmonies were used to govern architecture.
- Realism in painting and sculpture predated the period of urban patronage.
- It was the artist who strove for greater realism by the dissection and study of human and animal
anatomy.
- Artists in the industrial guilds who tried out new pigments, dyes and other materials to produce
more realistic and often more spectacular effects.
- Leonardos sketches go far beyond conventional representation, both in realism and
psychological insight.
- Dutch painting, too, reveals the urban influence of burgher patrons; illuminated and subtly
developed by artists like the van Eyck brothers.
WHY WAS PATRONAGE IMPORTANT?
- Used arts as a means of enhancing power.
- Through art, they promoted themselves creating a powerful image and recording their influence.
o Art for patrons was social status and political power Hollingsworth
PATRONAGE OF WRITERS:
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
- Writers flourished in Florence especially the Medici which helped sustain their status and
popularity.
- Benedetto Dei is one such example ardent Medici supporter and wrote the Cronica.
- The wealth directed at learning had several important results.
- The volume of material available for reading and study increased dramatically and libraries and
museums became crowded with literature and archaeological finds from Italy, Greece and
elsewhere in Europe.
- Patrons were generous and allowed copies to be made.
- The interests of patrons determined the line of study.
- Cosimo de Medici was concerned with Plutonic writing and this is reflected in Ficinos work.
- Church patrons soon turned to the religious writings of the classical period and Latin, Greek and
Hebrew documents relevant to Christianity were studied carefully.
- Erasmus spent much of his later life translating, editing and writing careful commentaries on
such documents.
- Without patronage, which had provided the money, the libraries and other facilities to encourage
able scholars, the growth of humanist learning and critical scholarships would have been much
vslower and far more limited.
THE MEDICI PATRONS OF THE ARTS:
- The influential role played directly and indirectly, by the Medici in the embellishment of their city,
increasing preferences for elaboration and the adoption of classical style as the hallmark of the
elite.
- The elite Medici supporters were primarily responsible for the art and architecture commissioned
in Florence during the second half of the Fifteenth century.
- Changed in the political structure were reflected in the new patterns of patronage.
- Corporate patronage began to decline as private citizens followed Cosimo and gave expression
to their family status, commercial success and political prestige.
- The Medici restrained from commissioning self-portraits and wished to create the image of
being one with the Florentines as can be seen in Gozzolis fresco Journey of the Magi.
JOURNEY OF THE MAGI:
- The fresco portrays the three Magi going to Bethlehem to pay homage (give gifts) to the
newborn Christ.
- The journey is a metaphor for man moving from the state of sin to grace.
- There is an emphasis on Caspar the youngest Magi idealized representation of Lorenze.
- Horse trappings have family emblem = father and Medici palle (balls).
- Behind his head is a laurel bush, lance and orange tree (Lancia, Larancia, Laura) similar to
Lorenzos name.
- The Medici correlated with the Magis
- Older Magus Cosimo
- Middle Magus Piero
- Young Magus Lorenzo
THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE
- The Fresco also contained Carlo, Cosimos illegitimate son (shows importance of extended family
in the upper class).
- The three pretty girls with tall feathers in caps are Lorenzos three daughters.
- Greek scholars are featured to display humanist ideas and to infer that he Medici were great
patrons of humanism.



































THE CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE AND PATRONAGE