Florence, or Firenze, was the seat of the Early Renaissance in Italy. However, in the Proto-renaissance period, other Italian cities were close competitors to become the center-point of artistic revolution. Florence’s emergence as the hub of art was influenced by several factors, the amalgamation of which led to the city’s rise.
Geographic dominance also greatly added to the strength that Florence has gained. The Black Death or plague had reduced the population of city by half and led to the bankruptcy of two banks during the 14th century. Believing Florence to be vulnerable Milan and Naples attempted to occupy it. However, the city successfully warded off these advances and in turn annexed Pisa. The faith of the people in the city that had been greatly shaken due to the catastrophes of the 14th century was renewed as a result. This in turn paved the way for growth and development. The growing strength of Florence in the economic and geographic context enabled a shift in focus towards the arts that were increasingly gaining popularity among the people.
Humanism also played a crucial role in the artistic boom that was a characteristic of Early renaissance. According to Humanists, a human being was capable of autonomy, using their God given rationality to attain meaningful and worthwhile goals. With a growing number of humanist philosophers based in the city, their written words were distributed among the populace through printed documents. The city became popular among artists who utilized this opportunity to interact and share ideas with each other without being witch hunted for going against the tenets of the church. Soon, art became ingrained in the cultural identity of Florence .
Another important aspect that established Florence as the seat of Early Renaissance was the massive patronage of the arts by the Medici family. This Florentine family began building its fortune in the trade of wool. Once they delved into the banking sector, they soon became the primary bankers for all of Europe and hence held a tremendous amount of influence in the region. However, as Florence was a republic, they could not officially seize power there . In order to win the support of the Florentines, the Medici began investing gargantuan sums of money into architecture and art projects across the city. The people were greatly moved by the beautification of their city that was fast becoming the pride of Italy. In order to tap into the free-flowing patronage of the Medici, artists and thinkers made a bee line for the city. In return, the Medici gained much coveted influence over the city, albeit unofficially.
The frenzy for the beautification of the city reached its peak with a contest that was organized at the dawn of the 15th century to create a pair of doors to match the beauty of the ones made by Andrea Pisano for the Baptistery located beside the Duomo cathedral. The doors made by Pisano were renowned as wonders and it was a matter of great fame and glory for any artist to win the contest. Several artists attempted to create doors on the given theme of The Sacrifice of Isaac. However, between Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, Ghiberti was declared the winner. While he gave Florence another pair of glorious bronze doors, Brunelleschi went on to create masterpieces in architecture . This was the first instance where artists had the opportunity to gain the status of heroes, paving the way for the Early Renaissance geniuses such as Donatello, Masaccio, Fre Angelico, Alberti, Mantegna, Botticelli, Signorelli, and della Francesca in addition to Renaissance greats such as Da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo – all students of early Renaissance greats.
Works Cited
“Italian Renaissance.” History 2013. Web. 8 September 2013
Jones, Jonathan. “The Medicis: money, myth and mystery.” The Guardian. 10 August 2011. Web. 8 September 2013.
Kehoe, Thomas J., Harold E. Damerow and Jose Marie Duvall. Exploring Western Civilization to 1648: A Worktext for the Active Student. Dubuque: Hunt Publishing Co. 1997. Print.
