Lorenzo de Medici’s Life and Influence on High Renaissance Art

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Table of Contents

Renaissance Period
Florence as a birth place of Renaissance
The influence of Lorenzo de Medici
Conclusion
References

Renaissance Period

According to Ames and Mary (1998), Renaissance is described as the period in which there was great change in Europe in which people embraced different arts in life. This period is credited with having given rise to papal patronage, great development in arts like painting, advancement in science, and other life perspectives. It had a great influence in the life of the people in the whole of Europe. It is thought to be a period which had a lot of influence in the life of Middle Ages and which reflected the cultural advance in the life of Europeans. It represented a cultural advance form the middle ages which saw an advance to the classical ages.

It represented the period in which there was a break from medieval thoughts and practices and focused on continuity and advancement in human life. Its influence on different spheres of life like literature, arts, politics, religion, sciences and others is still felt even up to date.

This period was marked by great desire by the scholars of the time to dig deep into old scholarly articles in a bid to find more knowledge. They searched in all monasteries for ancient Greek texts and Latin texts to try and link the ancient knowledge with the modern life. It is to be understood that most of these scholars devoted their study to the religious view of the world although many of them added their personal interpretation of the ancient thoughts and tried to differ from the Christianity view of life in those days. It was a great attempt by the scholarly word to study, interpret and improve the secularly and worldly view of life.

Their desire was to gain more knowledge about the link between the daily life and the religious life. That is why the renaissance period was more linked to the religious life of the people. Renaissance was a movement that started from one place and spread to the rest of Europe rapidly. This movement was spread through interaction between people living in different parts of Europe. To understand the impact of individuals in renaissance, it is good to understand the origin of renaissance, look at how individuals contributed to its development and look at how it spread to other parts.

Florence as a birth place of Renaissance

This period began in the 14^th century in Italy and rapidly spread to the rest of Europe. It had a great influence in the religious life of the people with the installation of the papal patronage headed at Rome in Italy. According to Cole (1938), it is believed that renaissance was born in Florence in Italy. Various scholars have tried to explain the factors leading to the rise of the renaissance with some arguing about the social and civic factors of Florence as having given birth to the period.

However it is believed that the political structure and the influence of the most dominant family in of the Medici in Florence could have been the factor that catalyzed the rise of the period. This period was marked by rebirth in all areas of art, psychology and sociology. It was time of experimentation in government and Florence was at the centre of this development.

During the middle ages, there was unusual social climate in Italy which is thought to have led to the development of the renaissance. At that time, Italy was divided into autonomous cities and other territories. There was Naples in the south, Florence, Papal States at the centre. In the North, there was Genoese and Milanese in the west. Venice occupied the eastern region. According to Burke (1999), these cities have risen after the fall of the old Roman Empire and hence most of them occupied the previous buildings which characterized the fallen empire.

It is worth noting that Venice and Florence existed as republics which had so much political structure that can be likened to the modern day democratic states. Political freedom in these two republics could have provided an enabling atmosphere for development of academic and artistic works. Both these cities were centre of trade and their contact with the outside world made it ideal to take in other people cultures.

This interbreeding of different cultures of the world could have given rise to the culture that characterized the renaissance. Being trade centers with an enabling political atmosphere and great wealth, rulers of the Medici family were able to commit huge sums to the development of the artistic works. It is also thought that the pandemic of Black Death could have led to the people of Europe to think more about the superstitious life which could have bred the renaissance. Hence renaissance in Italy could have been to interaction of many of the above given factors.

The influence of Lorenzo de Medici

There are several people who are credited with having guided Europe during the renaissance. These people have come to be called Renaissance men. They made valuable contribution in all spheres of renaissance period ranging from art, religion, science, and others. This period is associated with men like Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vince, and others. There were various scholars of the time like Niccolo de Nicclie, Poggio Brancciolini, and others who made remarkable contribution to the academic world. However there is one man who is so much credit with having made an immense contribution to the development of the renaissance in terms of the artistic work. This is no other that Lorenzo de Vinci. Let us look closely to the life of Lorenzo and the contribution he made to the development of art during this period.

We have seen that renaissance began in Florence in Italy. Florence was ruled by a wealth and influential family of the Medici’s who owned and controlled the Medici Bank. The family had a lot of influence in the political life the Florence which made them become the unofficial rulers of the republic. Through marriages and trade, the family became connected to most of the royal families in Europe and hence their influence extended outside Florence.

Notable among rulers of this family was Lorenzo de Medici who later came to be known as the magnificent Lorenzo. Lorenzo was born in 1449 and brought up in a highly cultured atmosphere which made him become one of the leading intellectuals of the time. At the age of twenty, together with his brother Giulliano, they started ruling Florence. After his brother deaths, Lorenzo assumed the full leadership of Florence.

Lorenzo ensured that he maintained the five chiefs who ruled under him. He wielded a lot of power and made the republican weaker and weaker. During his rule, he had a lot of conflicts with the papacy institution. His rule was very fair and tolerated opposition to some extent. Although he wielded a lot of power, there were blinking financial fortunes for the family during his reign. However the family bank, the Medici bank, and which was the largest financial institution in Europe at the time had started to be neglected by his grandfather Cosimo de Medici as the family becomes more and more involved in the political activities of the empire. Faced by financial crisis, Lorenzo embezzled public funds which constantly undermined his rule.

Although he had little success in the business life, Lorenzo is credited with having made a contribution in the development of art. He is credited with having provided huge sums to fund the art projects which marked the renaissance. His influence was not only in the political life but also to the social and philosophical life of the people which further led to the development of arts. But his early education in humanity and arts helped him to bring together the people of Europe maintaining balance in his rule and his palace turned to be the meeting point of scholars and artists.

According to Lorenzo (2006), upon his ascension to power, he welcome the republic to a lavish wedding ceremony in which he married Clarice Orsini in a church ceremony at San Lorenzo. This perhaps showed the whole republic the need to celebrate life together with others during the times of happiness. This brought social cohesiveness to the republic. It portrayed the factor of living well amid any financial crisis facing the people. This was highly criticized by his opposers but Lorenzo stood his ground. In his artistic work, Lorenzo is credited with having spread the need for love, feast, and others. His desire for feast was not only practiced in his life alone but was expressed in his poetry works.

From earlier times, the Medici families were lovers of art. Many rulers in the family had made financial commitment to the development of art in the empire. His grand father Cosimo had established the Medici library in which had a collection of books. Lorenzo continued this trend but surplused all the other rulers in terms of his contribution to the development of art in Florence. Lorenzo expanded the Medici library by collecting classical works. He opened the library to the public.

During his rule, Florence experienced a revolution in art which was not equaled by any other state in the whole of Europe. It is clear that Lorenzo did not advance the development of Art as a matter of family continuity but because he was a true lover of art. He was highly cultured and educated with a passion for art. He had knowledge in painting, music and poetry. He is credited with having written amazing poetry work in different styles and subjects in the Tuscan art. He is also credited with being the first ruler to accept classical worked.

He also helped in grooming many artists. During his reign, the Medici palace and gardens were always open to the talented artists who came to seek for financial help in their work Lorenzo never turned them away. He helped to groom many renaissance men including Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buornarroti, Sandro Botticelli, Filippion Lipi, Domenico ghirlandaio, Andrea del Verocchio, and others.

Kemperes (1992) explains that, among all these artists, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci enjoyed most privileged in terms of support from Lorenzo in their artistic work. Although Lorenzo did not do a lot of artistic work himself, he helped all of the above artists to develop their work. Michelangelo was fine tuned to produce classical arts by his teacher Bertoldo di Giovanni. Giovanni resided in the Lorenzo de Medici house. Later Michelangelo was invited by Lorenzo to his house to live and learn art in the palace. This clearly showed the interest Lorenzo had developed on the upcoming artist. Michelangelo served in the palace and at the same time grew up to become a famous artist. Michelangelo became a famous carver accredited with carving like Madonna of the stairs and the battle of the Cenaurs.

The above artists who were groomed under the light of Lorenzo led to the revolution of art not only in the renaissance but also in the modern times. The famous works of Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael represented another stage in which art was used to express beauty of nature and aesthetics expressed by fine art works. To date artistic work in places like Netherlands by Van Goes still reflect earlier aspects of art work that were brought to light by these early artists. Their works represents the high renaissance period which saw an accurate representation of figures in space in an appalling way. Their work are still considered quality and highly valued in the artistic cycle.

According to Murray (1986), there was also development of architectural structures which expressed renaissance artistic work. Among the famous structures which amazes people to date are like the church of San Lorenzo which was designed by Fillip Brunelleshci. During this period, architectural work was mostly associated with religious building. It has been argued that the whole renaissance was pegged on religion and the architectural works clearly indicates this. The new churches expressed the desire for spaciousness which manly thought was a move from darkness to enlightened Christian life. Among the notable architectural works of this period were like the Bramnantes Tempietto in San Pietro built in 1502, St. Peter Bacilian completed in 1590 which was designed by Michelangelo.

Lorenzo had also developed interest in music. His compositions are credited with having led to the early madrigal. His music composition interested many people. He patronized many musical and composers like Heinrich Isaak who became famous all over world. Their composition attracted many people who traveled to Florence to hear their composition.

Up to the time he died in 1492, Lorenzo had greatly influenced the art world and his impression still remains to date. The architectural works of his time is still felt in the modern world where many of the building built during his time are still standing today and are land marks for many places. The architectural designs of his time are still evident as many religious organizations employ these designs even in their modern churches.

His poetry and music composition are still influential. His compositions were famous then and are still relevant to date as bases for development of modern music. His poetic compositions are still precious to the art world.

Conclusion

The renaissance period was important in human development time line. This is the period when people became more aware of their environment and their surroundings. It is the time when human beings developed the need to understand nature and social life in details. The renaissance world can be said to have been the base for revolution of human civilization. It is a period in which human development took many turns and developed in many ways.

The development recorded at that time is the bases for development of modern human civilization. The development in art and science is still relevant to the modern day development. In deed the input of Lorenzo in the development of art can be reckoned by many who appreciate the renaissance. His contribution cannot only be attributed to art but also politically he ruled fairly and peacefully. His leadership qualities and the like for art helped him to dine with his opposers. His desire to developed art helped him interact with many people from different parts of the world.

With Florence assuming to the cradle of renaissance, Lorenzo helped to spread the wave to other cities in Europe through the influence of art. It is worth noting that art is sometimes more influential socially than any other sphere of development. This is because are more interactive than the rest. Hence it can be said that Lorenzo’s desire to spread art to other people in Europe helped to spread renaissance to the rest of the world. Lorenzo’s contribution was not only in art but also to the development of the whole renaissance.

References

Ames, F. and Mary, R. R. (1998): Concepts of Beauty in Renaissance Art. England: Ashgate.

Burke, P. (1999): The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy. Princeton: Princeton University.

Cole, B. (1938): Italian Art, 1250-1550: The Relation of Renaissance Art to life and Society. New York: Harper and Row, 1987.

Kempers, B. (1992): Painting, Power and Patronage: The Rise of the Professional Artist in the Italian Renaissance. London: Penguin Press.

Lorenzo, F. (2006): Lorenzo De Medici and the art of Magnificence. Renaissance quarterly, Vol. 59.

Murray, P. (1986): The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance. London: Thames and Hudson.

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