Explain the Medici family’s contributions to humanist scholarship and art, providing at least two examples of their patronage. Then debate the merits of a culture that relies on private patronage for the production of art

Question

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

1. The Medici, a family of bankers, were the most powerful family in Florentine affairs from 1418, when they became bankers to the papacy, until 1494, when irate citizens removed them from power. The Medici never ruled Florence outright, but they managed its affairs from behind the scenes. Over the course of those 76 years, they molded and manipulated, controlled and cajoled, persuaded and provoked the citizens of Florence into becoming a citizenry befitting the city they envisioned, a city that in some sense they sculpted, painted, and built. For them, the city was their own personal work of art, but the Medici trained the citizenry so well, especially imbuing it with a fierce independence of spirit, that the people eventually chafed at the control that the family exercised and rebelled. Examples of enduring works of art and architecture the family sponsored include the Church of San Lorenzo, Botticelli’s Adoration of the Magi, and the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi (students may supply others).
2. Students’ thoughts on the merits of patron-supported art will vary but should include discussion of the relative merits of private philanthropy, government sponsorship, and artistic independence.