Medici Family

Paper Summary:

The history of the Medici family in Italy clearly illustrates the difference between a true patron and a collector of fine art. This paper explains that with the collector, new artistic movements are, at times, very difficult to locate, which inevitably leads to the collector amassing works of art based on certain styles and motifs or even specific painters or sculptors from various artistic periods. The writer points out however that with the patron, such as Cosimo I and Lorenzo the Magnificent in the Renaissance and Cosimo III and Cardinal Leopoldo in the Baroque era, the almost in-born desire to vigorously encourage the development and spread of fine art is without competition, for the patron is truly the purveyor of artistic history, at least in western civilization.

From the Paper:

"Of course, when the Medici family did finally expire in the mid 18th century, the great artists, such as Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Brunelleschi and Bernini, had also expired and their successors, although very talented and inspirational, did not possess the genius of these men which may help to explain why patronage itself waned after the Baroque era. In addition, it could be said that without the Medici family and its enormous wealth and prestige the Renaissance and Baroque eras might never have existed. Thus, the Medici, along with other prominent art patrons, allowed for the formation of several outstanding art periods which not only helped to create and foster great talent but also made it possible for the common, everyday man or woman to gaze in awe at their works of wonder and contemplate the very nature of their creators and those that supported them without question or authority."

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