The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall

The Renaissance is one of the most discussed periods of history in the Western world. It
is considered a turning point in European thinking that paved the way for the Enlightenment and
modernity more broadly. One of the key factors in the development of the Renaissance was
patronage; without funding from wealthy donors, great thinkers like Leonardo da Vinci would
not have been able to create the wondrous works that they did. The Medici Family of Florence
was one such group of wealthy patrons. It is clear that they were integral to the Renaissance in
Italy, but there is still a question of motivation: why did the Medici spend much of their fortune
on patronizing the arts? Today, a consensus has formed around the idea that these families were
patrons for political reasons, commissioning works to boost their prestige within the ruling social
circles. However, other researchers claim that the motivations were much more personal: as the
intellectual revolution planted itself within society, elites were subject to its influence as well,
and patronage was simply an outgrowth of an overarching cultural shift. Preliminary research
shows that a combination of these factors were at work in the Medici family. While some of their
commissions show a clear political bias, that fact that they personally engaged with circles of
intellectuals shows that they had a legitimate interest in the arts and humanities; that they
composed their own works of artlike the wonderful poetry of Lorenzo Il Magnificoonly
underlines this point further.
The Medici were perhaps the most important family in the history of Florence. They
sponsored all manners of civic, religious, scholastic, and economic reforms that changed the

lives of Florentine citizens forever. Their marks can still be seen on the facades of many of
Florences great buildings and churches, and the history books marvel at the heights that they
achieved and that depths to which they plunged to hold on to power. The motivations behind
Medicean patronage were not always pure: they sought to bolster their influence and prominence
among the elite families of Italy, and their self-aggrandizement knew little if any bounds.
However, there was a streak of the humanistic spirit in their endeavors, a streak that still
resonates with Westerners in modern times.

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