An altarpiece for the Sala del Consiglio was commissioned on 27 September 1485 by the Opera of the Palazzo Vecchio. The Opera entrusted Lorenzo to determine the price of the work, which deviated from the procedures put in place for the allocation of work in the Provvisione of November 1477. The procedures required that the price of a work was to be determined before it was commissioned. At the time, Lorenzo was not a member of the Opera. By asking for Lorenzo’s opinion, the operai submitted themselves to the authority of his aesthetic judgment. Even when he was a member, Lorenzo did not need to be present for every meeting of the operai. The Opera was manned by members of his circle and would carry out Lorenzo’s patronage decisions, which allowed
From my trip to the art museum the piece which stood out the most to me throughout the entire experience was David Ghirlandaio’s Altarpiece showing the Virgin and Child, with Saints Apollonia and Sebastian. The work of art specifically depicts an example of a sacra conversazione such as the ones we have looked at in class. This piece was made specifically in the 1490’s or the Early Renaissance time period and directly came from Florence, Italy where it was commissioned by the church as an altarpiece. Ghirlandaio specifically used tempera and gold on panel for this painting which he made in his family enterprise. Overall, the painting is roughly five and a half feet in length and height and is an excellent example of the type of works one would expect to see out of the Early Renaissance time frame.
* Lorenzo’s brother had been assassinated by a rival family, the Pazzi, who had long plotted with the pope against the Medicis which made Lorenzo a cautious ruler
In the article “Conditions of Trade,” Michael Baxandall explains that fifteenth-century Italian art is a “deposit” resulting from the commercial interaction between the artist and the purchaser, who he refers to as a client. These works, as such, are “fossils of economic life,” and money, and they play an important role in the history of art. In our current perception of the relationship between the artist and art, “painters paint what they think is best, and then look around for a buyer” . However in the past, especially during the Renaissance period, the customers determined the content and form of paintings, as it was them who commissioned the work before it was created. He states that the artists and clients were interconnected and
The Holy Trinity by Masaccio was a painting done in approximately 1428. It is a
Sandro Botticelli and Angelo Poliziano were both working in the Medici court in Florence when the Medici commissioned the Bith of Venus for
In the early Renaissance era Florence and Siena were rivals in many aspects. The Battle of Montaperti was fought between the two in September of 1260. After their triumph over Florence, Siena used the monetary winnings for the building of the Palazzo Pubblico to serve the city in governmental, spiritual and social needs; it was comparable to the basilicas in ancient Rome in this aspect. The Palazzo Pubblico (fig. 1) was also made to compete with Florence’s already constructed Palazzo della Signoria1 (fig. 2). The city also focused the new funds on the elaboration of the cathedral interior (fig. 3). In 1308, Duccio di Buoninsegna was hired for this reason. Duccio completed the requested polyptych, or multipaneled, altarpiece three years
The Isenheim Altarpiece was made by Matthias Grunewald. It took many years to complete the isenheim Altarpiece. Grunwald actually went off of someone else work and built from their work to create his own. These painting in the Isenheim Altarpiece are references to things that have happened in the Bible.
Interior of the Pantheon, Rome (1734) is a remarkable painting by Giovanni Paolo Panini who is best known for his prospects on Rome in which he focussed on the city's famous sites. His works largely have a fancy and unreal adornment feature of capriccio themes. The Pantheon is a former Roman temple which is now a church in Rome. It is one of the best preserved Ancient Roman Buildings which is also popular for the geometric wonder that it is. It demonstrates the theory of 2:3 correlation between the volume of a cylinder and a sphere.
QUINTUS OCTAVIUS exited his litter, having just traversed the winding streets and narrow avenues of the Aventine, and hurried up the steps of the Basilica Julia. He had just concluded some business for his client Lollius Capito, leasing out some empty warehouses to a Sicilian merchant, whilst selling the deed of another to a vintner from Antium, liquidating some of Capito’s vacant properties. It was late afternoon and the Forum was bustling, for it was business as usual here in the great city of Rome; Octavius scarcely arrived at the proposed hour of his appointment for all the pedestrian hubbub and cart traffic afoot. Rome is ever the center of commerce and trade in the Empire, he thought wryly. Alexandria is but a small-time metropolis compared to our fabulous Eternal City!
A post Middle Age Italy was afflicted by medieval wars and the bubonic plague. A change was needed to restore the vision of what Italy could become. This change was found within one family: the Medici’s, who helped to return the glory and influence to Florence. The Medici’s saw the value in contributing to the advancement of the greatest minds of the period. This was evident in their patronage of leading Artists such as Michelangelo and of renowned Teachers such as Galileo. The sphere of influence the Medici’s enjoyed also extended to the political arena, which happened to be heavily influenced by the Catholic Church at the time. The Medici’s were able to capitalize on the power of the Church and through this influence and the use of
The Renaissance occurred in Europe between 1400 and 1600. This event began in Italy during the Medieval period and then expanded to the rest of Europe, marking the start of the Modern age. The Renaissance began in Florence Italy in the 14th century. It was a cultural movement that had an enormous impact in Europe during the early modern period. The Renaissance’s influenced politics, science, literature, art, philosophy, religion, music, and other aspects. Around the 13th century in Italy started the Renaissance’s art influence. Leonardo da Vinci, was known as the "Renaissance man," because of his art masterpieces and his studies in other fields during this time. Italy wasn’t a political concept in the
This paper will compare the themes found in the paintings “Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and an Angel” by Domenico di Bartolomeo Ubaldini (Puligo) and “Madonna Enthroned” by Giotto. Both paintings deal with fables from the Christian faith but were executed during different periods in art. The Giotto painting was created around 1310 and the Puglio painting was executed between 1518 – 1520. Here, these two paintings have similar themes both at the extreme beginnings and endings of the Italian Renaissance, and as such they serve to present an exceptional example of the developments in art that occurred within that time. This paper shall compare
Masaccio was not named among the painters ‘who have been illustrious in our age’ in Fazio’s De viris illustribus. Nor was Masaccio included among ‘the best masters who have existed for a good while back’ in the list of artists by whom the Florentine merchant Giovanni Rucellai owned works in c. 1470. This omission, however, presumably reflected the difficulty of acquiring panel paintings by Masaccio, which inevitably have always been rare, rather than an opinion that Masaccio was not one of ‘the best masters’ (Ahl 158).
Commedia dell’arte was established during the sixteenth century at a time when theatre flourished in Italy. Despite such a rich time for the arts, a divide in the church as well as
The focus of this investigation will be “The Medici family supported the artists of the Renaissance era by providing them financial support, throughout mentorship and because of the prevailing philosophy and humanism.” This investigation will focus on the background of the Medici family and how they supported artists of the Renaissances era. This investigation will use a primary source from an artist's work and a secondary source relating to the Medici family uprising.San Lorenzo (church). Medici chapel. Tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici which held Sculptures by Michelangelo and Adrien, De Roover Raymond. The Rise and Decline of the Medici Bank, 1397-1494. Norton Library, 2012.Both sources provide background to the Renaissance time period and how the Medic family treated artists with their power. The two sources are examples of how the Medicis changed the renaissance era through their money and power to pursue artists for their own benefit and for the time periods.