Medici Family Influence

The Medici family commissioned many artists to make art for them. By the family commissioning them it basically made the artist’s name. In the early time of the Medici family when they were just building up their empire commission artists would help them to build their political prestige and their reputation in the community. Initially in the time of Lorenzo Medici the church wanted nothing to do with the Medici family’s art patronage because they believed that the works that they had commissioned were crude or inappropriate due to nudity or sexual scenes. About 70 years later right before Pope Julius died the Medici art patronage was brought into the church when he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. By Michelangelo being brought into the light of the Catholic Church it opened doors for the Medici family to

The Renaissance period was the period that was referred to as the "the rebirth" of Classical culture. During this era, many Italians believed that they observed the rebirth of antiquity or Greco-roman civilization (334). Throughout this time period, the art that came out was similar to the growth that happened in philosophy, literature, music and science. Renaissance art focused more on humans, the accurate portrayal of the natural world as well as the old architecture of the Romans. The Renaissance art was reflected politically because during this time, the cities were ruled by wealthy families. Families such as the Medici family were extremely powerful and influential during this time (335). In their prime days, the Medici family was considered the most influential money lenders and best bank in Europe (335).

To many, the name Lorenzo de Medici just sounds like an irrelevant Italian man. At a closer look, Lorenzo was one of the most important people in the history of Italy. Born to Lucrezia Tornabuoni and Piero di Cosimo de ' Medici, Lorenzo ruled Florence from 1469 until his death in 1492 after his father’s death. He helped make Florence the most important city-state from 1469-1492. Lorenzo de Medici was the most important ruler of Florence because he formed political alliances to protect his people, he was a strong supporter of education, and he was an advocate to many great artists.

* Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent, ruled Florence in a totalitarian fashion during the last quarter century of the fifteenth century

Cosimo de’ Medici was born on September 27, 1389 in Florence, Italy at the time his family was middle class bankers. At a young age his father Giovanni, introduced his son to the family business of banking. As Cosimo grew older, he took on more duties in the family business and eventually became the head of the bank the family owned. When he was a young man he had an important relationship with the Catholic Church, at this time the Church was the dominant religious faith of Europe, the one most powerful men in Europe was the Pope. Cosimo recognized the important role of the Catholic Church and made a friendship with the Pope. After this relationship the Medici banks were handling most of the Church’s financial accounts. Some

Giovanni De Bicci De Medici: Giovanni established political and financial power of the Medicis and was one of the richest bankers in Italy because he was also the Medici bank founder. Giovanni was the first Medici to really like the looks of art and decorate his house with it and support

While researching many online sources about, The Medici family and specifically Lorenzo de Medici, I found several sites that had help me further my knowledge and understanding of Lorenzo de Medici and why he was influential during the Renaissance time period. I could not find all my information strictly on one sight because Lorenzo de Medici had many different fields of work and personal things that he had invested his time into to only find it on one source. Many of these sources often placed an emphasis on Lorenzo de Medici’s life and not what he would be remembered for. He has contributed so much to the culture and development of Florence and will forever be remembered as “Lorenzo the Magnificent” for a reason. He was a strong leader and

There was a declining factor of financial imagery in 1529, this lead the Medici´s to change from merchants to aristocrats and some to royalty like Queen Catherine de Medici. Cosimo de Medici began the Medici dynasty in Florence, Whose influence led to Galileo changing the name of Jupiter's four moons. Cosimo was given the title “father of the country” by using his family's money to help reshape Florentine politics. At this time politics dominated city culture. The ultimate beneficiary of Medici patronage was Michelangelo.

“The Medici created me, and the Medici destroyed me.” This quote by Leonardo Da Vinci (from here on out will be referred to as Da Vinci) is the best summary for how powerful the Medici family was and the reach of influence they held in the Italian Renaissance. During the Italian Renaissance the Medici family rose to prominence and became a powerhouse family sitting in the echelons of names like the Kennedys, Washingtons, and Roosevelts. They helped push the artistic movements in the renaissance funding famous artists such as Donatello, Da Vinci, and Fra Angelico. Although many say that the Medici family rose to prominence due to their contributions to the art community during the Italian Renaissance, the Medici family's rise to prominence was due to their economic savvy, brutal cut throat techniques, and sphere of influence.

The political advantages of the bank also permitted the Medici family to maintain their control over Renaissance Florence. On an international level, the bank provided the Medici family a degree of favourable contact with the Pope and other Renaissance princes. The Medici thus relied on a system of diplomacy in which they attempted to cultivate and maintain personal ties with individual rulers. As historian Gene Brucker explains, “This [system of] personal diplomacy was most likely to succeed when it was reinforced by mutual interests; Medici loans to Francesco Sforza [the ruler of Milan] were repaid when the latter sent troops to Florence to thwart a revolutionary movement.” Milan was not the only state to trade the Medici political favours for bank loans. Economic historian Raymond de Roover, the author of the most comprehensive economic studies of the collapse of the Medici bank, also notes that male relatives of the Pope’s bankers (the Medici) received preferential treatment upon entering the holy orders, and were rapidly made bishops, cardinals, and in some cases, popes. Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici, for example, received the tonsure at age seven and became a cardinal at age fourteen because of the influence his father, Lorenzo il Magnifico, had with

More details on the reigns of her three sons, assertive mother, Catherine De medici became a political force to be reckoned with during the successive reigns of her three songs. Wanting to join their families power she forced her daughter, Marguerite to marry Henri de Bourbon, a protestant, whose mother Jeanne d’Albret Catherine disliked greatly. Jeanne became ill and died shortly after arriving at court with her son, suspicious thoughts arose and

With Giovanni’s death in 1429, there were those who tried to capitalize on the opportunity to displace the Medici family from its place in the social and political landscape of the time. One such opportunity was taken with the help of a wealthy rival, the Albizzi family, who put in motion a plot to have Giovanni’s son, Cosimo de Medici, arrested on accusations of treason and banished to Venice. This did not happen without consequences. With Cosimo’s exile he took with him a large source of Florentine capital, the Medici Bank. The Pope intervened and restored the Medici’s to power. Thus began Cosimo’s restoration of Florentine pride and the support of great artists that many admire today.

The House of Medici, or the Medici family, was a very influential and extremely powerful family during the time of the Renaissance in Italy. The Renaissance took place starting in the late 14th century. During this time, the people started to take interest in and have an appreciation for the classical times. The beginning of this powerful family really begins with Giovanni di Bicci deˈ Medici. He was born in the year 1360 in Florence, Italy. Originally from the Tuscan hillside, the Medici family immigrated to Florence during the 12th century. Giovanni di Bicci deˈ Medici was the man who really got the family moving. He founded the Medici Bank and began using money to gain influence. The Medici Bank eventually became the official bank of

The powerful Medici family controlled Florence, Italy, from late-14th to mid-18th centuries. The person who placed this family in power was Cosimo de’ Medici. He was able to gain influence because of the wealth he earned through the Medici bank. His wealth allowed him to be a major influence in various aspects of society. Early in his career, in the 1430s, he became a significant patron of learning. Cosimo sponsored artists from different parts of Italy and with a wide variety of styles, and paid to represent his family through paintings, sculpture, and architecture. Many of those works of art were placed in places for lower classes of people to observe, and thus admire him. Works of art in his palace were primarily intended for the admiration of people of high status. In addition, through his support of the guilds and their artistic commissions, he gained recognition as a good citizen and supporter of the arts. Much of the art that Cosimo sponsored aimed to show his greatness that of the Medici family. The “Adoration of the Magi” was a fresco that Cosimo commissioned for the monastery of San Marco, and was on one of the wall of his cell. The artist who created the fresco was Benozzo Gozzoli, who incorporated the portraits of the family and their allies in scene of the artwork. Cosimo had his own cell where he went to pray very frequently. Because religion played a very

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.