How Did the Medici Family Influence the Art of the Renaissance

What were the contributions of the de Medici family to the Renaissance in Italy during the fifteenth century? The de Medicis were the effective rulers of the Florentine Republic in the 15th century, and they later became the ruling house of Florence in the 16th and 17th century. The family, especially in the fifteenth century made a decisive contribution to the Renaissance in Italia.

This contribution was through their patronage of the arts in their native Florence and their policies that favored peace and stability in Italy. The de Medicis fabricated a real and telling contribution to the arts, politics, and stability of Italy and encouraged the intellectual and cultural flourishing that became known as the Renaissance.

Who were the De Medici?

The Medici family originally originate in a small hamlet to the n of Florence. In the thirteenth century, the first Medici arrived in Florence. The family before long prospered in their new habitation. The early De Medici's fabricated their coin in the wool trade. They used the profits that they made in the wool trade to diversify their business interests. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (c. 1360–1429) increased the family'south wealth, established the Medici Bank, and became one of Florence's richest men.^[one] The Medici became involved in politics, and they were often involved with the popular party in Florence. In general, the Medici liked to influence politics from behind the scene and used their wealth and connections to achieve their goals. In 1434 Cosimo the Elderberry was elected as ane of the leaders of the Florentine Republic, and although he was just one of several magistrates who ruled the city, he came to dominate it.^[two]

Cosimo was a very constructive leader and was a skilled negotiator, and he brought stability to the city and made information technology fifty-fifty wealthier. Before Cosimo, the urban center had been regularly disturbed and unsettled by political factions and influential families. Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero who had little of the abilities of his father. He died while nevertheless quite young and was succeeded by his son Lorenzo, known to history as Lorenzo the Magnificent. He was an excellent ruler and brought peace and prosperity to Florence and its hinterland.

Why did the De Medici's lose control of Florence?

However, the De Medici business fortunes began to falter, which ultimately weakened Florence's agree. Lorenzo and the Medici survived a plot to impale them and seize power in 1474.^[3] Afterwards Lorenzo died, his son became caput of Florence. Still, he was incompetent, and he provoked a pop insurgence against the family, which led to their expulsion from Florence from 1494-1512. The Family was restored to Florence in 1512, and they somewhen became the Dukes of Florence. However, the glory days were gone, the after de Medici was not equally powerful or as rich as their predecessors, and Florence became a political and cultural backwater.^[iv]

How did the de Medici dominate Florence during the Renaissance

In the 15th century when the de Medici was at the pinnacle of their powers, they dominated Florence.^[5] However, they were eager to announced as outset among equals, they went to great lengths to allow the other noble and wealthy families to secure many of the offices in the City-Republic'south government.^[6] This reconciled many of them to the domination of their Commonwealth by i family. The de Medici were fabulously wealthy at least until the 1480s, and their wealth was able to smoothen out whatsoever difficulties that they had experienced and the City of Florence experienced a period of peace and stability because of the de Medici's wealth.

This flow of quiet was unique in the city's history that well-known for its political turbulence. The de Medici brought stability to the city and this allowed trade to flourish and as well the arts. The stability that the de Medici provided allowed Florence to get a cultural middle.

The metropolis'south artists and writers took reward of the peace and stability to develop new styles of fine art in security. And so the de Medici was quite tolerant for the times.^[7] They were more often than not secular in outlook and their ability meant that the urban center's artists and writers did not have to fright from the Inquisition or clerical interference.^[8] The Medici, especially Lorenzo the Magnificent was broad-minded. Indeed, Lorenzo was himself a distinguished poet, and this led to an temper where new ideas and practices were encouraged and even promoted in Florence.^[nine]

The de Medic had long been associated with the Humanists. Lorenzo the Magnificent was himself taught past a well-known Humanist and was sympathetic to the aims of the movement. For this reason, humanism and its ideas on human being reason and capabilities flourished in the city. Indeed, many humanists such equally De Valla were able to secure employment in the de Medici administration and added to the cultural life of the city.^[10]

How did a more peaceful Italian republic benefit the De Medici family?

In the fifteenth century, Italia became more peaceful. In previous centuries war was endemic in the Peninsula. There were conflicts between the metropolis-states and often ceremonious conflicts within them. These indeed led to the rising of many tyrants all over Italian republic particularly, in the 14th century. The De Medici did not like to appoint in war and did not want to aggrandize Florentine territory.^[eleven] They favored peace and believed that war was bad for trade. In this, they had a decidedly modern outlook. Cosimo the Elderberry worked tirelessly for peace in the North of Italy. He sought to found a balance of ability in the region betwixt the main powers and the exclusion of foreign powers such as the French and the Holy Roman Emperor. Cosimo helped to negotiate an end to a series of wars in Lombardy and helped the master players in Italy, Milan, Naples, Venice, and Florence to reach an agreement to respect each other'southward territorial integrity.

Lorenzo, the Magnificent, followed his grandad's policies about maintaining a residual of power in Italy. This led Lorenzo and other Northern Italian leaders to negotiate the Treaty of Lodi that brought peace and stability to N and Central Italia.^[12] The de Medici through their policies did much to bring peace and security too much of Italy, and this was crucial for the Renaissance ^[13] It is not a coincidence that the cultural zenith of the Italian Renaissance occurred when Florence was stable. Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael produced their most historic works when Northern Italy was experiencing an unprecedented peaceful period in the fifteenth century. In this way, the de Medici family unit helped to create an ideal environment for the swell artists of the era to abound and create peerless works of art.

How did the De Medicis revive Greek Cognition?

Michaelangelo – whose patrons were the De Medici

The Renaissance was inspired by the Classical World of Ancient Greece and Rome. Even so, until the fifteenth century, the Italian humanists only knew of Ancient Greece and the groovy works of Plato and the other cracking Greeks through the Romans. Cosimo the Elder helped to introduce Ancient Greek manuscripts and culture into Italian republic. Cosimo the Elder sought to end the schism in the Christian Church. He helped to negotiate the union of the Catholic and the Orthodox Church building that was formalized at the Quango of Florence in 1439. This Union ultimately failed, but it was to have a profound impact on the evolution of the Renaissance.

The Byzantine Emperor visited Florence in 1493 to ratify the Union, and he was attended by several hundred followers among them the cracking Neoplatonist philosopher George Gemistos Plethon.^[14] Cosimo had failed to achieve a lasting union between the eastern and the western Church. Yet, he inspired renewed interest in the works of the Greeks as he patronized several Greek scholars from Byzantium and appeared to take secured some manuscripts that were previously unknown in Florence. In the Byzantine Empire, there were many great works from the Greek past that were unknown in Italy. The city of Florence before long became the center for the study of Aboriginal Greek culture and Neoplatonism, became very influential.^[15] The increasing interest in Greek civilisation was to straight the Renaissance in new directions and inspired a new generation of writers and philosophers such as Pico Della Mirandola.

Why were the De Medici art patrons?

All of the de Medici had an involvement in the arts in the fifteenth century and fine art was used to legitimize the family unit'due south rule of Florence. The works commissioned past the family often sought to heighten the status of the family unit in the city. They used art to fortify their position in Florentine Society. However, the family unit was too genuinely fond of art, architecture, and literature. Cosimo was very knowledgeable about architecture and Lorenzo the Magnificent was a connoisseur of paintings and sculptures.

The Medici'southward used their lavish wealth to patronize many of the greatest artists of the fourth dimension. The family was direct responsible for some of the greatest works in the Renaissance. Cosimo the Elder was the patron of the slap-up architect Bruneschelli, and it was under De Medici orders that he built the great Medici Sacristy in the Church of San Lorenzo. Information technology was Cosimo who ordered the building of the nifty De Medici Palace with its magnificent paintings by Uccello. It was Cosimo who as well commissioned Donatello's, Bronze of David, ane of the most influential pieces of sculpture in the catamenia.^[16]

Lorenzo was equally lavish in his patronage of artists and the commissioning of bully works of art. He is widely seen as perchance the greatest patron of the arts in Renaissance Italia, but this view has been challenged in recent decades. He too commissioned works from great artists such as Botticelli, Perugino, Ghirlandaio, and Verrocchio. Moreover, Lorenzo established a sculpture garden at San Marco, where he encouraged the young Michelangelo to study works from the Classical Flow. Michelangelo produced his beginning pregnant works under the patronage of Lorenzo.^[17] Michelangelo formed part of Lorenzo's household, and he treated artists as the equals of humanist scholars and poets.

Lorenzo's handling of articles was unprecedented in Republican Florence, where painters and sculptors had only been ranked equally mere tradesmen or common craftsmen.'^[18] This treatment raised the status of the artists in the eyes of Florentine guild and this was to produce an environment where they had more than freedom of expression, and this enabled them to produce many great artworks.^[19] Lorenzo not only patronized these dandy artists only they also patronized many humanists and writers and they all helped to make Florence a leading intellectual center. Ironically, it has been suggested that the de Medici's lavish expenditure on the arts and buildings led to their financial difficulties from the 1480s onwards, which contributed to their 'expulsion from the urban center in 1494.^[20]

Were the De Medici family important during the Renaissance?

The de Medici during their rule of Florence in the fifteenth century did much to influence the Renaissance and to enable the not bad artists, humanists, and writers, to produce their works that have been then influential down the centuries. The family brought stability and peace to the city of Florence. This was crucial in the cultural flourishing in the city in the fifteenth century. The de Medici's largely peaceful rule did much to promote the Renaissance in the urban center. They also in their relations with the other city-states did much to bring peace to North Italian republic. And so the de Medici was very instrumental in the growing interest in Greek civilisation and history.

Cosimo de Medici and his policies promoted, unintentionally, the study of the works of the Greeks. This was to move the Renaissance in new directions, specially under the influence of Neoplatonism. Then there was the patronage of the de Medici; the family unit directly helped many cracking artists to produce many new and great works of art. Lorenzo the Magnificent especially helped to raise the status of the artists in Florentine society. By the time of their expulsion in 1494, the family had fabricated a meaning contribution to the development of the Renaissance, which has been crucial in the evolution of the modern world.

References

1. ↑ Hibbert, Christopher. The House of Medici: Its Ascent and Fall. Morrow (London, Morrow, 1975)
2. ↑ Ferdinand Schevill, History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance (London, Frederick Ungar, 1936), p. 113
3. ↑ Schevill, p. 115
4. ↑ Paul Strathern, The Medici—Godfathers of the Renaissance (London, Pimlico, 2005), p. 213
5. ↑ Lauro Martines, Apr Claret: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici (Oxford, Oxford University Press 2003, p. 114)
6. ↑ Schevill, p. 115
7. ↑ Martines, p. 145
8. ↑ Schevill, p. 117
9. ↑ Strathern, p. 117
10. ↑ Hibbert, p. 167
11. ↑ Hibbert, p. 156
12. ↑ Hibbert, p. 118
13. ↑ Miles J. Unger, Magnifico: The Vivid Life and Fierce Times of Lorenzo de Medici, (London, Simon and Schuster 2008), p. 134
14. ↑ Miles, p. 123
15. ↑ Hibbert, p. 134
16. ↑ Hibbert, p. 134
17. ↑ Miles, p 145
18. ↑ Miles, 117
19. ↑ Strathern, p 65
20. ↑ Miles, p 134

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Updated May 6, 2019

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Source: https://dailyhistory.org/How_did_the_de_Medici_contribute_to_the_Renaissance

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