preview

The Representation Of Cosimo De ' Medici

Decent Essays

The representation of Cosimo de’ Medici’s virtue in Benozzo Gozzoli’s “Adoration of the Magi” 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

Get Access