The Relationship Between Wealth and Art - Renaissance

WK - The Italian Renaissance was a time of rebirth in the arts. An abundance of new styles were explored, building on classical traditions but also breaking away from them. This cultural explosion was made possible by the liberal distribution of florins that characterized the artistic support of leading banking and commerce families. These influential families were patrons sometimes as a Machiavellian exercise of their power, often to atone for religious sins, and sometimes because they loved art and the artists who produced it. This essay will explore the relationship between these wealthy families and the art they helped author to prove that, regardless of their motivations, their contributions to western art are unparalleled. The Bardi family controlled one the largest banks in Europe in their day. From Florence, they oversaw nearly 100 branches (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-27674, Retrieved November 27, 2006), and were able to loan massive amounts of money to help support England. In fact, at one point they ‘"privatized" the revenues of Edward II and Edward III [and] paid the King 's budget, ' (http://american_almanac.tripod.com/pbgbardi.htm, ‘Privatization ' section, para 3, Retrieved November 27, 2006), which clearly shows the extent of their wealth. This wealth they used to retain the services of Giotto di Bondone to paint a score of frescoes for their chapel at Santa Croce (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9065572, Retrieved November 27, 2006), including the famous ‘Death and Ascension of Saint Francis ', and also to have Donatello make the ‘Crucifix ' for their chapel. The Bardi 's financial success also allowed them to commission Botticelli to paint them several altarpieces, including the famous Bardi Altarpiece (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-780, November 25, 2006). In literature, it was Bardi finances that supported the young writer Boccaccio at the court of Naples. This is where he was sent by his father, who was in fact

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