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humanism, system of education and mode of inquiry that originated in northern Italy during the 13th and 14th centuries and later spread through continental Europe and England. The term is alternatively applied to a variety of Western beliefs, methods, and philosophies that place central emphasis on the human realm. Also known as Renaissance humanism, the historical program was so broadly and profoundly influential that it is one of the chief reasons why the Renaissance is viewed as a distinct historical period. Indeed, though the word Renaissance is of more recent coinage, the fundamental idea of that period as one of renewal and reawakening is humanistic in origin. But humanism sought its own philosophical bases in far earlier times and, moreover, continued to exert some of its power long after the end of the Renaissance.

Origin and meaning of the term humanism

The ideal of humanitas

The history of the term humanism is complex but enlightening. It was first employed (as humanismus) by 19th-century German scholars to designate the Renaissance emphasis on Classical studies in education. These studies were pursued and endorsed by educators known, as early as the late 15th century, as umanisti-that is, professors or students of Classical literature. The word umanisti derives from the studia humanitatis, a course of Classical studies that, in the early 15th century, consisted of grammar, poetry, rhetoric, history, and moral philosophy. The studia humanitatis were held to be the equivalent of the Greek . Their name was itself based on the Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero's concept of , an educational and political ideal that was the intellectual basis of the entire movement. Renaissance humanism in all its forms defined itself in its straining toward this ideal. No discussion of humanism, therefore, can have validity without an understanding of humanitas.

Humanitas meant the development of human virtue, in all its forms, to its fullest extent. The term thus implied not only such qualities as are associated with the modern word humanity-understanding, benevolence, compassion, mercy-but also such more assertive characteristics as fortitude, judgment, prudence, eloquence, and even love of honour. Consequently, the possessor of humanitas could not be merely a sedentary and isolated philosopher or man of letters but was of necessity a participant in active life. Just as action without insight was held to be aimless and barbaric, insight without action was rejected as barren and imperfect. Humanitas called for a fine balance of action and contemplation, a balance born not of compromise but of complementarity.

The goal of such fulfilled and balanced virtue was political, in the broadest sense of the word. The purview of Renaissance humanism included not only the education of the young but also the guidance of adults (including rulers) via philosophical poetry and strategic rhetoric. It included not only realistic social criticism but also utopian hypotheses, not only painstaking reassessments of history but also bold reshapings of the future. In short, humanism called for the comprehensive reform of culture, the transfiguration of what humanists termed the passive and ignorant society of the "dark" ages into a new order that would reflect and encourage the grandest human potentialities. Humanism had an evangelical dimension: it sought to project humanitas from the individual into the state at large.

The wellspring of humanitas was Classical literature. Greek and Roman thought, available in a flood of rediscovered or newly translated manuscripts, provided humanism with much of its basic structure and method. For Renaissance humanists, there was nothing dated or outworn about the writings of Aristotle, Cicero, or Livy. Compared with the typical productions of medieval Christianity, these pagan works had a fresh, radical, almost avant-garde tonality. Indeed, recovering the classics was to humanism tantamount to recovering reality. Classical philosophy, rhetoric, and history were seen as models of proper method-efforts to come to terms, systematically and without preconceptions of any kind, with perceived experience. Moreover, Classical thought considered ethics qua ethics, politics qua politics: it lacked the inhibiting dualism occasioned in medieval thought by the often-conflicting demands of secularism and Christian spirituality. Classical virtue, in examples of which the literature abounded, was not an abstract essence but a quality that could be tested in the forum or on the battlefield. Finally, Classical literature was rich in eloquence. In particular, humanists considered Cicero to be the pattern of refined and copious discourse, as well as the model of eloquence combined with wise statesmanship. In eloquence humanists found far more than an exclusively aesthetic quality. As an effective means of moving leaders or fellow citizens toward one political course or another, eloquence was akin to pure power. Humanists cultivated rhetoric, consequently, as the medium through which all other virtues could be communicated and fulfilled.

Humanism, then, may be accurately defined as that Renaissance movement that had as its central focus the ideal of humanitas. The narrower definition of the Italian term umanisti notwithstanding, all the Renaissance writers who cultivated humanitas, and all their direct "descendants," may be correctly termed humanists.

Other uses

It is small wonder that a term as broadly allusive as humanism should be subject to a wide variety of applications. Of these (excepting the historical movement described above) there are three basic types: humanism as Classicism, humanism as referring to the modern concept of the humanities, and humanism as human-centredness.

Accepting the notion that Renaissance humanism was simply a return to the Classics, some historians and philologists have reasoned that Classical revivals occurring anywhere in history should be called humanistic. St. Augustine, Alcuin, and the scholars of 12th-century Chartres have thus been referred to as humanists. In this sense the term can also be used self-consciously, as in the New Humanism movement in literary criticism led by Irving Babbitt and Paul Elmer More in the early 20th century.

The word humanities, which like the word umanisti derived from the Latin studia humanitatis, is often used to designate the nonscientific scholarly disciplines: language, literature, rhetoric, philosophy, art history, and so forth. Thus, it is customary to refer to scholars in these fields as humanists and to their activities as humanistic.

Humanism and related terms are frequently applied to modern doctrines and techniques that are based on the centrality of human experience. In the 20th century the pragmatic humanism of Ferdinand C.S. Schiller, the Christian humanism of Jacques Maritain, and the movement known as secular humanism, though differing from each other significantly in content, all showed this anthropocentric emphasis.

Not only is such a large assortment of definitions confusing, but the definitions themselves are often redundant or impertinent. There is no reason to call all Classical revivals "humanistic" when the word Classical suffices. To say that professors in the many disciplines known as the humanities are humanists is to compound vagueness with vagueness, for these disciplines have long since ceased to have or even aspire to a common rationale. The definition of humanism as anthropocentricity or human-centredness has a firmer claim to correctness. For obvious reasons, however, it is confusing to apply this word to Classical literature.

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Humanism | Definition, Principles, History, & Influence

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Humanism, system of education and mode of inquiry that originated in northern Italy during the 13th and 14th centuries and later spread through western Europe. The term is alternatively applied to a variety of Western beliefs, methods, and philosophies that place central emphasis on the human realm.

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Leonardo Da Vinci's Influences on the Renaissance

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Leonardo Da Vinci's Influences on the Renaissance

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Gain insight into the mind of a genius and the fundamental scientific and artistic principles he discovered.

The Renaissance Man

Who Was Leonardo Da Vinci?
While Leonardo da Vinci is best known as an artist, his work as a scientist and an inventor make him a true Renaissance man. He serves as a role model applying the scientific method to every aspect of life, including art and music. Although he is best known for his dramatic and expressive artwork, Leonardo also conducted dozens of carefully thought out experiments and created futuristic inventions that were groundbreaking for the time.

His keen eye and quick mind led him to make important scientific discoveries, yet he never published his ideas. He was a vegetarian who loved animals and despised war, yet he worked as a military engineer to invent advanced and deadly weapons. He was one of the greatest painters of the Italian Renaissance, yet he left only a handful of completed paintings.

Navigate this website to learn more about Leonardo's brilliant and imaginative mind, and the art, inventions, and discoveries that he made.
Learn More >

Leonardo sought a universal language in painting. Using perspective and his experiences with scientific observation, Leonardo tried to create faithful renditions of life. This call to objectivity became the standard for painters who followed in the 16th century.

Da Vinci - The Artist >

Throughout his life, Leonardo had brilliant and far-out ideas, ranging from the practical to the prophetic. Leonardo recognized that levers and gears, when applied properly, could accomplish astonishing tasks.

Da Vinci - The Inventor >

Da Vinci bridged the gap between the shockingly unscientific medieval methods and our own trusty modern approach. The sheer range of topics that came under his inquiry is staggering: anatomy, zoology, botany, geology, optics, aerodynamics and hydrodynamics among others.

Da Vinci - The Scientist >

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Gain insight into the mind of a genius and the fundamental scientific and artistic principles he discovered.

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(1469–1527). Italian political writer and statesman Niccolò Machiavelli was active during the Italian Renaissance. He wrote powerful, influential, and thoughtful prose. He…

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Galileo Galilei and the Scientific Method

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Galileo Galilei and the Scientific Method

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Galileo Galilei - New Mexico Museum of Space History

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Galileo Galilei pioneered the experimental scientific method and was the first to use a refracting telescope to make important astronomical discoveries. He is often referred to as the “father of […]

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Printing Press - Invented, Gutenberg, Significance | HISTORY

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The printing press, which allows for the mass production of printed matter, originated in China before Johannes Guten…

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Ferdinand Magellan's Early Years

Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521) was born in Sabrosa, Portugal, to a family of minor Portuguese nobility. At age 12 Ferdinand Magellan ( Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese and Fernando de Magallanes in Spanish) and his brother Diogo traveled to Lisbon to serve as pages at Queen Leonora's court. While at the court Magellan was exposed to stories of the great Portuguese and Spanish rivalry for sea exploration and dominance over the spice trade in the East Indies, especially the Spice Islands, or Moluccas, in modern Indonesia. Intrigued by the promise of fame and riches, Magellan developed an interest in maritime discovery in those early years.

Did you know? Clove was the most valuable spice in Europe during Magellan's day. It was used to flavor food, but Europeans also believed that its essence could improve vision, its powder could relieve fevers and that it could enhance intercourse when mixed with milk.

In 1505, Magellan and his brother were assigned to a Portuguese fleet headed for India. Over the next seven years, Magellan participated in several expeditions in India, Southeast Asia, and Africa and was wounded in several battles. In 1513 he joined the enormous 500-ship, 15,000-soldier force sent by King Manuel to Morocco to challenge the Moroccan governor who refused to pay its yearly tribute to the Portuguese empire. The Portuguese easily overwhelmed the Moroccan forces, and Magellan stayed on in Morocco. While there he was seriously wounded in a skirmish, which left him with a limp for the rest of his life.

Magellan: From Portugal to Spain

In the 15th century, spices were at the epicenter of the world economy, much like oil is today. Highly valued for flavoring and preserving food as well as masking the taste of meat gone bad, spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and especially black pepper were extremely valuable. Since spices could not be cultivated in cold and arid Europe, no effort was spared to discover the quickest sea route to the Spice Islands. Portugal and Spain led the competition for early control over this critical commodity. Europeans had reached the Spice Islands by sailing east, but none had yet to sail west from Europe to reach the other side of the globe. Magellan was determined to be the first to do so.

By now an experienced seaman, Magellan approached King Manuel of Portugal to seek his support for a westward voyage to the Spice Islands. The king refused his petition repeatedly. In 1517, a frustrated Magellan renounced his Portuguese nationality and relocated to Spain to seek royal support for his venture.

When Magellan arrived in Seville in October 1517, he had no connections and spoke little Spanish. He soon met another transplanted Portuguese named Diogo Barbosa, and within a year he had married Barbosa's daughter Beatriz, who gave birth to their son Rodrigo a year later. The well-connected Barbosa family introduced Magellan to officers responsible for Spain's maritime exploration, and soon Magellan secured an appointment to meet the king of Spain.

The grandson of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who had funded Christopher Columbus 's expedition to the New World in 1492, received Magellan's petition with the same favor shown by his grandparents. Just 18 years old at the time, King Charles I granted his support to Magellan, who in turn promised the young king that his westward sea voyage would bring immeasurable riches to Spain.

Strait of Magellan

On August 10, 1519 Magellan bade farewell to his wife and young son, neither of whom he would ever see again, and the Armada De Moluccas set sail. Magellan commanded the lead ship Trinidad and was accompanied by four other ships: the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria and the Santiago. The expedition would prove long and arduous, and only one ship, the Victoria, would return three years later across the Pacific, carrying a mere 18 of the fleet's original crew of 270.

In September 1519 Magellan's fleet sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, and crossed the Atlantic Ocean, which was then known simply as the Ocean Sea. The fleet reached South America a little more than one month later. There the ships sailed southward, hugging the coast in search of the fabled strait that would allow passage through South America. The fleet stopped at Port San Julian where the crew mutinied on Easter Day in 1520. Magellan quickly quelled the uprising, executing one of the captains and leaving another mutinous captain behind. Meanwhile Magellan had sent the Santiago to explore the route ahead, where it was shipwrecked during a terrible storm. The ship's crew members were rescued and assigned out among the remaining ships. With those disastrous events behind them, the fleet left Port San Julian five months later when fierce seasonal storms abated.

On October 21, 1520 Magellan finally entered the strait that he had been seeking and that came to bear his name. The voyage through the Strait of Magellan was treacherous and cold, and many sailors continued to mistrust their leader and grumble about the dangers of the journey ahead. In the early days of the navigation of the strait, the crew of the San Antonio forced its captain to desert, and the ship turned and fled across the Atlantic Ocean back to Spain. At this point, only three of the original five ships remained in Magellan's fleet.

The Magellan Expedition: Circumnavigation the Globe

After more than a month spent traversing the strait, Magellan's remaining armada emerged in November 1520 to behold a vast ocean before them. They were the first known Europeans to see the great ocean, which Magellan named Mar Pacifico, the Pacific Ocean, for its apparent peacefulness, a stark contrast to the dangerous waters of the strait from which he had just emerged. In fact, extremely rough waters are not uncommon in the Pacific Ocean, where tsunamis, typhoons and hurricanes have done serious damage to the Pacific Islands and Pacific Rim nations throughout history.

Little was known about the geography beyond South America at that time, and Magellan optimistically estimated that the trip across the Pacific would be rapid. In fact, it took three months for the fleet to make its way slowly across the vast Mar Pacifico. The days dragged on as Magellan's crew anxiously waited to utter the magic words "Land, ho!" At last, the fleet reached the Pacific island of Guam in March 1521, where they finally replenished their food stores.

Magellan's fleet then sailed on to the Philippine archipelago landing on the island of Cebu, where Magellan befriended the locals and, struck with a sudden religious zeal, sought to convert them to Christianity. Magellan was now closer than ever to reaching the Spice Islands, but when the Cebu asked for his help in fighting their neighbors on the island of Mactan, Magellan agreed. He assumed he would command a swift victory with his superior European weapons, and against the advice of his men, Magellan himself led the attack. The Mactanese fought fiercely, and Magellan fell when he was shot with a poison arrow. Ferdinand Magellan died on April 27, 1521.

Magellan would never make it to the Spice Islands, but after the loss of yet another of his fleet's vessels, the two remaining ships finally reached the Moluccas on November 5, 1521. In the end, only the Victoria completed the voyage around the world and arrived back in Seville, Spain, in September 1522 with a heavy cargo of spices but with only 18 men from the original crew, including Italian scholar and explorer Antonio Pigafetta. The journal Pigafaetta kept on the voyage is a key record of what the crew encountered on their journey home.

Impact of Ferdinand Magellan

Seeking riches and personal glory, Magellan's daring and ambitious voyage around the world provided the Europeans with far more than just spices. Although the trip westward from Europe to the east via the Strait of Magellan had been discovered and mapped, the journey was too long and dangerous to become a practical route to the Spice Islands. Nevertheless, European geographic knowledge was expanded immeasurably by Magellan's expedition. He found not only a massive ocean, hitherto unknown to Europeans, but he also discovered that the earth was much larger than previously thought. Finally, although it was no longer believed that the earth was flat at this stage in history, Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe empirically discredited the medieval theory conclusively.

Though Magellan is often credited with the first circumnavigation of the globe, he did so on a technicality: He first made a trip from Europe to present-day Malaysia, eastward via the Indian Ocean, and may have continued further east to the Spice Islands. He then later made his famous westward voyage that brought him to the Philippines. So he did cover the entire terrain, but it was not a strict point A to point A, round-the-world trip, and it was made in two different directions. His enslaved servant Enrique was born in the region, possibly near Malacca or Cebu, and had come to Europe with Magellan by ship. Enrique reached Cebu (and possibly Mallaca) on the expedition's westward voyage, meaning he may have been the first person to circumnavigate the world in one direction to return to the same starting point.

HISTORY Vault: Columbus the Lost Voyage

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Ferdinand Magellan - Early Years, Expedition & Legacy

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Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe and became the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean.

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Amerigo Vespucci was a 16th-century Italian merchant and explorer remembered not only for his voyages that altered the course of history but for bestowing the New World with the name "America."

Vespucci's mapping of coastlines and constellations, cultural observations and identification of equatorial ocean currents led to the realization that his travels had taken him to a new continent, challenging the previously held belief that Christopher Columbus had reached the uncharted eastern edge of Asia.

Early Life and Education

Born March 9, 1454, in Florence, Italy, during the height of the Renaissance, Vespucci came from a prominent family with ties to the Medici dynasty. His father, a government notary, and his uncle, respected humanist Dominican friar Giorgio Antonio Vespucci, played influential roles in his education. Immersed in a world of trade and maritime culture from a young age, Vespucci developed interests and aptitude in astronomy, math, navigation and foreign languages.

Early in his career, Vespucci worked for the Medici family as a banker and later supervised ship operations in Seville, Spain. Accounts vary, but many believe that Vespucci met Christopher Columbus in Seville in 1496, after Columbus's historic 1492 voyage, and assisted Columbus in preparing for future expeditions.

Did you know? Thefirst use of the name "America" was in 1507, when a new world map was created based on the explorations of Amerigo Vespucci.

Vespucci's Voyages

Fueled by his own passion for discovery, Vespucci joined a Spanish expedition while in his 40s, serving as an astronomer and mapmaker in search of a passage to India. Led by Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda, they set sail from Cadiz, Spain, in May 1499 and reached the northeastern coast of South America.

Despite their belief that they had arrived in Asia, Ojeda explored the coast of Venezuela while Vespucci ventured south to coastal Brazil. During the voyage, Vespucci charted the constellations, noting their differences from those seen in Europe. He also documented the diverse flora and fauna, made extensive observations about the indigenous tribes he encountered and described what he thought was the Ganges River, but is now known to be the mouth of the Amazon River.

In a letter recounting the journey, he wrote of discovering "an infinite number of birds or various forms and colors and trees so beautiful and fragrant that we thought we had entered the earthly Paradise."

In May 1501, Vespucci embarked on another voyage, this time under the patronage of King Manuel I of Portugal, again seeking passage to India. Sailing along the Brazilian and Argentinian coasts, Vesupucci ventured further south to present-day Rio de Janeiro and the La Plata River. Once again, he observed unfamiliar constellations, unexplained equatorial currents and an absence of the riches he expected to find in India. Realizing that he was not in India or on an undiscovered island but on a separate continent across the Atlantic Ocean, he dubbed the land Mundus Novus, or the New World.

There are varying accounts and unconfirmed reports of Vespucci undertaking a third voyage to the New World in 1503, also in the name of Portugal.

Although Vespucci's discoveries were not considered highly significant at the time, the publication of his correspondence with friends and colleagues chronicling his voyages, known as the "Vespucci Letters," played a pivotal role in dispelling the belief that Columbus had reached Asia. The letters brought Vespucci fame (although some believe the letters are fake).

Vespucci's Namesake and Reputation

The term "America" first took shape in 1507, when German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller drew a map of the newly recognized continent and labeled it "Americus" in Vespucci's honor. This map, often referred to as "America's birth certificate," marked the usage of the name "America."

Vespucci, who became a naturalized citizen of Spain in 1505, was given the prestigious title of master navigator of Spain in 1508. Charged with training and recruiting navigators and managing the country's map collections, he held the position until he died of malaria in Seville on February 22, 1512, at the age of 58.

Sources

"The Map That Named America," U.S. Library of Congress
"Amerigo Vespucci," by Frederick A.Ober
"Amerigo Vespucci: Italian explorer who named America," LiveScience"
Amerigo Vespucci," T he Martimers' Museum and Park

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Amerigo Vespucci was a 16th-century Italian merchant and explorer remembered not only for his voyages that altered the course of history but for bestowing the New World with the name "America."

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During the Renaissance, most works of fine art were commissioned and paid for by rulers, religious and civic institutions, and the wealthy. Producing statues, frescoes, altarpieces, and portraits were just some of the ways artists made a living. For the more modest client, there were ready-made items such as plaques and figurines. Unlike today, the Renaissance artist was often expected to sacrifice their own artistic sentiments and produce precisely what the customer ordered or expected. Contracts were drawn up for commissions which stipulated the final cost, the timescale, the quantity of precious materials to be used, and perhaps even included an illustration of the work to be undertaken. Litigations were not uncommon but, at least, a successful piece helped spread an artist's reputation to the point where they might be able to have more control over their work.

Who Were the Patrons of Art?

During the Renaissance, it was the usual practice for artists to only produce works once they had been asked to do so by a specific buyer in a system of patronage known as mecenatismo. As the skills required were uncommon, the materials costly, and the time needed often long, most works of art were expensive to produce. Consequently, the customers of an artist's workshop were typically rulers of cities or dukedoms, the Popes, male and female aristocrats, bankers, successful merchants, notaries, higher members of the clergy, religious orders, and civic authorities and organisations like guilds, hospitals, and confraternities. Such customers were keen not only to surround their daily lives and buildings with nice things but also to demonstrate to others their wealth, good taste, and piety.

There was a great rivalry between cities like Florence, Venice, Mantua, & Siena and they hoped any new art produced would enhance their status in Italy & Abroad.

Rulers of cities like the Medici in Florence and the Gonzaga in Mantua wanted to portray themselves and their family as successful and so they were keen to be associated with, for example, heroes of the past, real or mythological. Popes and churches, in contrast, were eager for art to help spread the message of Christianity by providing visual stories even the illiterate could understand. During the Renaissance in Italy, it also became important for cities as a whole to cultivate a certain character and image. There was a great rivalry between cities like Florence, Venice, Mantua, and Siena, and they hoped any new art produced would enhance their status within Italy or even beyond. Publicly commissioned works might include portraits of a city's rulers (past and present), statues of military leaders, or representations of classical figures particularly associated with that city (for example, King David for Florence). For the same reasons, cities frequently tried to poach renowned artists away from one city to work in their city instead. This revolving market of artists also explains why, particularly in Italy with its many independent city-states, artists were always very keen to sign their work and so contribute to their own burgeoning reputation.

Rulers of cities, once they had found themselves a good artist, might keep him at their court indefinitely for a great number of works. A 'court artist' was more than just a painter and could be involved in anything remotely artistic, from decorating a bedroom to designing the liveries and flags of their patron's army. For the very best artists, payment for their work at a particular court could go far beyond mere cash and include tax breaks, palatial residences, patches of forest, and titles. This was just as well because the majority of surviving correspondence we have from such artists as Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519 CE) and Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431-1506 CE) involves respectful but repeated demands for the salary their illustrious, yet tight-fisted patrons, had originally promised them.

Whoever the client of Renaissance art, they could be very particular about what the finished article looked like.

Modest art, say a small votive statue or plaque, was within the means of more humble citizens, but such purchases would have been only for special occasions. When people got married, they might employ an artist to decorate a chest, some parts of a room, or a fine item of furniture in their new home. Relief plaques to leave in churches in thanks for a happy occurrence in their lives was a common purchase, too, for ordinary folk. Such plaques would have been one of the few types of art produced in larger quantities and made readily available 'over the counter'. Other options for cheaper art included secondhand dealers or those workshops which offered such minor items as engraving prints, pennants, and playing cards which were ready for sale but could be personalised by, for example, adding a family coat of arms or a name to them.

Expectations & Contracts

Whoever the client of Renaissance art, they could be very particular about what the finished article looked like. This was because art was not merely produced for aesthetic reasons but to convey meaning, as mentioned above. It was no good if a religious order paid for a fresco of their founding saint only to find the finished artwork contained an unrecognisable figure. Simply put, artists could be imaginative but not go so far from convention that nobody knew what the work meant or represented. The re-interest in classical literature and art which was such an important part of the Renaissance only emphasised this requirement. The wealthy possessed a common language of history regarding who was who, who did what, and what attributes they had in art. For example, Jesus Christ has long hair, Diana carries a spear or bow, and Saint Francis must have some animals nearby. Indeed, a painting packed with classical references was highly desirable as it created a conversation piece for dinner guests, allowing the well-educated to display their deeper knowledge of antiquity. The Primavera painting by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510 CE), commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, is an excellent and subtle example of this common language of symbolism.

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As a consequence of the expectation of patrons, and in order to avoid disappointment, contracts were commonly drawn up between artist and patron. The design, whether of a statue, painting, baptistery font, or tomb, might be agreed on in detail beforehand. There could even be a small scale model or a sketch made, which then became a formal part of the contract. Below is an extract from a contract signed in Padua in 1466 CE which included a sketch:

Let it be manifest to anyone who will read this paper that Mr Bernardo de Lazzaro had contracted with Master Pietro Calzetta, the painter, to paint a chapel in the church of St. Anthony which is known as the chapel of the Eucharist. In this chapel he is to fresco the ceiling with four prophets or Evangelists against a blue background with stars in fine gold. All the leaves of marble which are in that chapel should also be painted with fine gold and blue as should the figures of marble and their columns which are carved there...In the said altarpiece, Master Pietro is to paint a history similar to that in the design which is on this sheet...He is to make it similar to this but to make more things than are in the said design...Master Pietro promises to finish all the work written above by next Easter and promises that all the work will be well made and polished and promises to ensure that the said work will be good, solid, and sufficient for at least twenty-five years and in case of any defect in his work he will be obliged to pay both the damage and the interest on the work...

(Welch, 104)

The fees for a project were set out in the contract and, as in the example above, the completion date was established, even if negotiations might continue long after to amend the contract. Missing the promised delivery date was perhaps the most common reason for litigation between patrons and artists. Some works necessitated the use of expensive materials (gold leaf, silver inlay, or particular dyes, for example) and these might be limited in quantity by the contract to avoid the artist overindulging and going over budget. In the case of goldwork or a fine marble sculpture, the minimum weight of the finished work could be specified in the contract. For paintings, the price of the frame might be included in the contract, an item that frequently cost more than the painting itself. There might even be a get-out clause that the patron could avoid paying altogether if the finished piece did not gain favour with a panel of independent art experts. After a contract was signed, a copy was each kept by the patron, artist, and public notary.

Following the Project

Once the terms and conditions were settled, the artist might still face some interference from his patron as the project developed into a reality. Civic authorities could be the most demanding of all patrons as elected or appointed committees ( opere) discussed the project in detail, perhaps held a competition to see which artist would do the job, signed the contract, and then, after all that, established a special group to monitor the work throughout its execution. A particular problem with opere was that their members changed periodically (although not their chief, the operaio) and so commissions, although not perhaps cancelled, could be seen as less important or too expensive by different officials from those who originally started the project. Fees became an ongoing issue for Donatello (c. 1386-1466 CE) with his Gattamelata in Padua, a bronze equestrian statue of the mercenary leader ( condottiere) Erasmo da Narni (1370-1443 CE), and this despite Narni having left in his will a provision for just such a statue.

Some patrons were very particular indeed. In a letter from Isabella d'Este (1474-1539 CE), wife of Gianfrancesco II Gonzaga (1466-1519 CE), then ruler of Mantua, to Pietro Perugino (c. 1450-1523 CE), the painter was left very little margin for imagination in his painting the Battle between Love and Chastity. Isabella writes:

Our poetic invention, which we greatly want to see painted by you, is a battle of Chastity and Lasciviousness, that is to say, Pallas and Diana fighting vigorously against Venus and Cupid. And Pallas should seem almost to have vanquished Cupid, having broken his golden arrow and cast his silver bow underfoot; with one hand she is holding him by the bandage which the blind boy has before his eyes, and with the other she is lifting her lance and about to kill him...

the letter continues like this for several paragraphs and concludes with:

I am sending you all these details in a small drawing so that with both the written description and the drawing you will be able to consider my wishes in this matter. But if you think that perhaps there are too many figures in this for one picture, it is left to you to reduce them as you please, provided that you do not remove the principal basis, which consists of the four figures of Pallas, Diana, Venus and Cupid. If no inconvenience occurs I shall consider myself well satisfied; you are free to reduce them, but not to add anything else. Please be content with this arrangement.

(Paoletti, 360)

Portraiture must have been a particularly tempting area for patron interference and one wonders what customers thought of such innovations as Leonardo da Vinci's three-quarter view of his subjects or the absence of conventional status symbols like jewellery. One of the bones of contention between the Pope and Michelangelo (1475-1564 CE) while he was painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling was that the artist refused to let his patron see the work until it was completed.

Finally, it was not unusual for patrons to appear somewhere in the work of art they had commissioned, an example being Enrico Scrovegni, kneeling in the Last Judgement section of Giotto's frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510 CE) even managed to get in a whole family of senior Medici in his 1475 CE Adoration of the Magi. At the same time, the artist might put themselves in the work, see, for example, the bust of Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455 CE) in his bronze panelled doors of Florence's Baptistery.

Post-Project Reaction

Despite the contractual restrictions, we can imagine that many artists tried to push the boundaries of what had been previously agreed upon or simply experimented with novel approaches to a tired subject matter. Some patrons, of course, may even have encouraged such independence, especially when working with more famous artists. However, even the most renowned artists could get into trouble. It was not unknown, for example, for a fresco not to be appreciated and so be painted over and then redone by another artist. Even Michelangelo faced this when completing his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Some of the clergy objected to the amount of nudes and proposed to replace them entirely. A compromise was settled on and 'trousers' were painted on the offending figures by another artist. However, the fact that many artists received repeat commissions would suggest that patrons were more often satisfied than not with their purchases and that, like today, there was a certain respectful deference for artistic license.

Patrons certainly could be disappointed by an artist, most commonly by them never finishing the work at all, either because they walked out over a disagreement on the design or they simply had too many projects ongoing. Michelangelo fled Rome and the interminable saga that was the design and execution of the tomb of Pope Julius II (r. 1503-1513 CE), while Leonardo da Vinci was notorious for not finishing commissions simply because his overactive mind lost interest in them after a while. In some cases, the master artist might have deliberately left some parts of the work to be finished by his assistants, another point which a wise patron could guard against in the original contract. In short, though, litigations for breaches of contract were not an uncommon occurrence and, just like commissioning an artist today, it seems that a Renaissance patron could be delighted, surprised, perplexed, or downright outraged at the finished work of art they had paid for.

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During the Renaissance, most works of fine art were commissioned and paid for by rulers, religious and civic institutions, and the wealthy. Producing statues, frescoes, altarpieces, and portraits were just some of the ways artists made a living. For the more modest client, there were ready-made items such as plaques and figurines.

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The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, first attained wealth and political power in Florence, Italy, in the 13th century through its success in commerce and banking. Beginning in 1434 with the rise to power of Cosimo de Medici (or Cosimo the Elder), the family's patronage of the arts and humanities made Florence into the cradle of the Renaissance, Europe's scientific, artistic and cultural rebirth. The Medicis produced four popes (Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV and Leo XI), and their genes have been mixed into many of Europe's royal families. The last Medici ruler died without a male heir in 1737, ending the family dynasty after almost three centuries.

Birth of the Medici Family

The Medici story began around the 12th century when family members from the Tuscan village of Cafaggiolo emigrated to Florence. Through banking and commerce, the Medicis rose to become one of the most important families in Florence.

Their influence had declined by the late 14th century, however, when Salvestro de Medici (then serving as gonfaliere, or standard bearer, of Florence) was banished from the city in 1382 due to his oppressive policies and was forced to live in exile.

Cosimo de Medici

Another branch of the family, descended from Salvestro's distant cousin Giovanni di Bicci de Medici, would begin the great Medici dynasty. Giovanni's elder son, Cosimo de Medici (1389-1464), rose to political power in 1434 and ruled Florence as an uncrowned monarch for the rest of his life.

Known to history as Cosimo the Elder, he lived a spartan life but was a devoted patron of the humanities, supporting artists such as Lorenzo Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello and Fra Angelico. During Cosimo's time, as well as that of his sons and particularly his grandson Lorenzo de Medici, the Italian Renaissance flourished, and Florence became the cultural center of Europe.

Did you know? When Cosimo I moved the Florentine administrative offices into a building known as the Uffizi, he also established a small museum. The building is now the site of Florence's famed Uffizi Gallery, home to many great Renaissance-era treasures amassed by the Medicis since the time of Cosimo the Elder.

Lorenzo de Medici

Lorenzo de Medici (1449-1492), also known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, was a poet himself, and supported the work of such Renaissance masters as Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo (whom the Medicis commissioned to complete their family tombs in Florence).

After Lorenzo's premature death at the age of 43, his eldest son Piero succeeded him, but he soon infuriated the public by accepting an unfavorable peace treaty with France. After only two years in power, he was forced out of the city in 1494, and died in exile.

In 1512, thanks in part to the efforts of Piero's younger brother Giovanni (a cardinal at the time and the future Pope Leo X), the Medici family was able to return to Florence. The next few years marked the high point of Medici influence in Europe, as Leo X followed in his father's humanistic footsteps and devoted himself to artistic patronage.

Catherine de Medici

Piero's son, also named Lorenzo, regained power in Florence, and his daughter Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) would become queen of France after marrying King Henry II; three of her four sons would rule France as well.

By the early 1520s, few descendants of Cosimo the Elder remained. Giulio de Medici, the illegitimate son of Lorenzo the Magnificent's brother Giuliano, abdicated power in 1523 to become Pope Clement VII, and the short and brutal rule of Alessandro (reputed to be Giulio's own illegitimate son) ended with his assassination in 1537.

A New Medici Branch Comes to Power

At this point, the descendants of Cosimo the Elder's brother (known as Lorenzo the Elder) came forward to launch a new Medici dynasty. Lorenzo's great-great-grandson Cosimo (1519-1574) became duke of Florence in 1537, then grand duke of Tuscany in 1569. As Cosimo I, he established absolute power in the region, and his descendants would rule as grand dukes into the 1700s.

Cosimo's elder son Francis succeeded his father, but proved a less effective ruler. His daughter Marie would become queen of France when she married Henry IV in 1600; her son would rule as Louis XIII from 1610-43. Francis' younger brother Ferdinand, who became grand duke in 1587, restored Tuscany to stability and prosperity. He also founded the Villa Medici at Rome and brought many priceless works of art to Florence.

Medici Family in Decline

In general, the later Medici line renounced the older generation's republican sympathies and established more authoritarian rule, a change that produced stability in Florence and Tuscany, but led to the region's decline as a cultural hub.

After Ferdinand's son Cosimo II (who supported the work of the mathematician, philosopher and astronomer Galileo Galilei) died in 1720, Florence and Tuscany suffered under ineffectual Medici rule.

When the last Medici grand duke, Gian Gastone, died without a male heir in 1737, the family dynasty died with him. By agreement of the European powers (Austria, France, England and the Netherlands), control over Tuscany passed to Francis of Lorraine, whose marriage to Hapsburg heiress (and mother of Marie Antoinette) Maria Theresa of Austria would begin the long European reign of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family.

Sources

How the Medici Used Portraits as Propaganda. Smithsonian Magazine.
The Medici Family. The Galileo Project. Rice University.
Medici Family: Origins and History. The Medici Family.

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Medici Family: Cosimo, Lorenzo & Catherine - HISTORY

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The Medici family was a powerful dynasty that ruled Florence, Italy, and soon spread their artistic and economic influence throughout Renaissance Europe.

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Almost 500 years ago, the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus wrote a book saying that Earth and the other planets travel around the Sun. This was an important change in…

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Renaissance Architecture is a style of architecture that emerged in early 15th-century Florence, Italy. Ushering in a revival of ancient Greek and Roman Classical architectural forms, it supplanted the prevailing Gothic medieval aesthetic.

What Is Renaissance Architecture?

The Renaissance ("rebirth") spanned two centuries, encompassing not only architecture but art and human ideals, producing multi-disciplinary giants including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. The lasting cultural legacy of the Renaissance makes it one of the most transformative periods in western history.

History of Renaissance Architecture

Renaissance architecture developed as part of the rebirth of classicism in Florence, Italy, circa 1400 that evolved over the next 200 years as it spread throughout Italy and then Europe. Renaissance architects in Italy took inspiration from ancient Greco-Roman ruins and early structures like the Pantheon and the Colosseum in Rome, as well as the writings of Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius (80 BC-15 BC), which were published in 1486. Rather than simply reproducing the past, Renaissance architects sought to use classical elements to innovate new structures that were rooted in history but adapted to a modern world and the development of cities.

Renaissance Architecture is generally broken down into three main periods, starting with the Early Renaissance that began around 1400 when architects began to look to antiquity for inspiration and reintroduce Classical Roman and Greek elements such as arches, columns, and domes into buildings. Early Renaissance buildings had symmetrical facades and clear, streamlined volumes that marked a change from the more complex Gothic proportions that preceded them.

Starting around 1500, the High Renaissance was a period in which the use of Classical elements adapted to contemporary 16th-century building styles was in full bloom. During the Late Renaissance starting around 1520 (also called Mannerism), the use of decorative and ornamental classical elements such as domes and cupolas became more widespread.

Renaissance architecture was followed by the emergence of the Baroque period around 1600. Nevertheless, hundreds of years later the architectural fruits of the Renaissance are considered some of the world's greatest built structures and its guiding principles continue to influence architects, artists, and thinkers to this day.

Key Characteristics of Renaissance Architecture

Focus on classical notions of beauty based on proportion and symmetry mixed with a humanist perspective on architecture

Renaissance architecture strove to create harmony between humans and mathematical proportions by creating a human-scale classical geometry

Characterized by square, symmetrical building plans

Exteriors typically featured ashlar masonry

Employed the use of Classical elements such as domes, columns, pilasters, lintels, arches, and pediments in an orderly and repetitive fashion, adapted to then contemporary purposes

Use of Roman orders of Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite columns

Early Renaissance buildings focused on bringing in air and light, which was also a nod to the dawning of Renaissance ideals and thought

Notable Examples of Renaissance Architecture

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy. Considered the first Renaissance architect, Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) is the early Renaissance pioneer responsible for the famous red brick Duomo at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. Construction of the cathedral began in the Gothic period in 1296 and was completed in 1436. The majestic dome is not only the building's crowning feature, it is a feat of engineering that was ahead of its time and that influenced many religious buildings in Italy and around the world. Considered by many to be the first Renaissance building, it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the city's most striking and significant landmarks.

Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Italy. Located in the heart of Rome-adjacent Vatican City, Saint Peter's Basilica is a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture. Constructed between 1506 and 1615, and overseen at one point by the great Renaissance sculptor, painter, and sometime architect Michelangelo (1475-1564), who spent his final years overseeing the project, this holy pilgrimage site and tourist attraction is one of the most recognizable Renaissance buildings in the world.

Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, Italy. Completed in 1564, the Marciana research library in Venice is a quintessential example of Renaissance architecture, built in the Palladian style by architect Jacopo Sansovino. One of the most breathtaking public libraries ever built, this gem is located on the popular Piazza San Marco.

Palazzo Medici in Florence, Italy. This quintessential Renaissance palace, which is also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, was completed in 1484 by architect Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for the head of the Medici banking family. Today it is a museum and the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence.

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Renaissance Architecture is a style of architecture that emerged in early 15th-century Florence, Italy. Ushering in a revival of ancient Greek and Roman Classical architectural forms, it supplanted the prevailing Gothic medieval aesthetic. The Renaissance ("rebirth") spanned two centuries, encompassing not only architecture but art and human ideals, producing multi-disciplinary giants including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.