It began with his grandfather, the great Cosimo. It began
with Cosimo’s love of spending money to enrich the city he loved so much. In
his own words, he reveals such expenditures arose from a profound sense of
civic duty, “All those things have given me the greatest satisfaction and
contentment because they are not only for the honor of God but are likewise for
my own remembrance.” (Taylor. F.H. (1948) The
Taste of Angels; a History of Art Collecting from Rameses to Napoleon, pp
65-66). It was a duty passed to and expanded by his grandson.
The list of artists and philosophers under the patronage of
Lorenzo de’ Medici reads like a Who’s Who of the Italian Renaissance. Below are
the most prominent as well as examples of their works.
In the realm of intellectualism, he expanded the library
begun by his grandfather (a library now known as the Medici or Laurentian
Library) by importing from the East great amounts of classical works. He
financially supported a workshop to copy all books in his possession and to
spread their content across all of Europe.
The Platonic Academy, led by Marsilio Ficino (under the
patronage of Lorenzo), was a modern form of Plato’s Academy. Other members, and
those who called Lorenzo patron, included Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and
Poliziano as well as Marsilio Ficino. The informal group supported the
development of humanism and attempted to merge the ideas of Plato with
Christianity.
Piero and Antonio del Pollaiolo, were two brothers of
extraordinary artistic talent; they came under the wing of Il Magnifico at a fairly early age. It was by Lorenzo’s connections
that they were able to establish their own studiolos.
Both went on to produce magnificent works, works that furthered the evolution
of art intrinsic to the Renaissance.
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| Battle of Nude Men (1465-1475, engraving) Antonio del Pollaiolo |
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| Justice (1470, tempura on panel) Piero del Pollaiolo |
Antonio (1429-1498) was a goldsmith, engraver, painter, and
sculptor. Like his brother, his work reveals classical influences as well as
those rooted in the essence of human anatomy. Antonio’s work exhibits a far
darker side than his brother’s, a strong brutality, especially in his
metal-work and sculpture, where he achieved his greatest success.
There is to be found a greater sense of piety and serenity
in Piero del Pollaiolo’s (1443-1496) work than in his brother’s. His works tend
much more to the religious as well as female portraiture. Portrait of a Woman, Portrait of a Girl, Coronation of the Virgin
as well as the Seven Virtues exhibit
his softer nature.
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| The Last Supper (1480; fresco) Ghirlandaio |
Considered a member of the third generation in the many waves
of the Florentine Renaissance, Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494) was not only a
master painter but one of the most prolific, creating a massive body of
work in frescoes, altar pieces, and portraits. The trend of incorporating
contemporary portraits within religious narratives was perfected under his
brush. His studio contributed not only some of the greatest works of the age,
but one of the greatest artists of the era as well.
Not only an artist under the patronage of Lorenzo de’
Medici, Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, known to the world as Sandro
Botticelli (1445-1510) was also one of the powerful man’s closest and dearest
friends. His body of work includes some of the greatest of the age, with The Birth of Venus and Primavera most widely known. By his hand
we see the magnificent merging of the Gothic realism with the study of the
antique.
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| Venus and Mars (1485 tempura and oil on poplar) Botticelli |
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| Winged Boy with Dolphin (1470 bronze) Verrocchio |
Verrocchio (which in Italian means ‘true eye’), born Andrea
di Michele di Francesco de’ Cioni (1435-1488), was one of the greatest maestri of the Renaissance. His artistic
supremacy encompassed sculpture, painting, and goldsmith work. A place in his
studio was a sought after and much envied place, a place where other great
artists would come into the bright light of the Renaissance. One of the
brightest being none other than Leonardo da Vinci.
Lorenzo called Leonardo friend as well as artist. Leonardo
da Vinci (1452-1519) was educated by his father (though born out of wedlock)
and brought to Verrocchio’s studio by the same man. But to call Leonardo merely
an artist is a statement of great injustice. He was more, so very much more…a
polymath,
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| La Scapigliata (1508 Oil on canvas; unfinished) a personal favorite; she cried with me; da Vinci |
Much time could be spent debating who was the greatest
artist to come under the wing of the great Lorenzo…Leonardo or Michelangelo. The
time would be better spent simply reveling in the magnificent works of both
men.
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| Madonna and Child (1501-1504, marble) Michelangelo |
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564), like
Leonardo, was a man of many talents. Poet, engineer, architect, painter, and
sculptor, his creations still beautify the world. Though most known for his
work on the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo considered himself, first and
foremost, a sculptor. Lorenzo’s support of this talented man went beyond most
others, giving Michelangelo a place in his home during the most trying times of
a very traumatic life. In the words of biographer Paolo Giovi, Michelangelo was
both ‘bizzarro e fantastico.’ Michelanglo’s
body of work is among the most prolific and the most profound.
Through his generosity, intellectual
curiosity, as well as his joy and admiration of artistic works, Lorenzo de’
Medici may be called, without question, one of the greatest forces behind the
magnificence that was the Renaissance.
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