Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
Albizzi
The rivaling banking family of the Medici’s. They had Cosimo arrested and locked him in a tower. They were going to kill him, but Cosimo escaped.
Artists
Seventy percent of all Renaissance artists lived and worked in Florence. Lots of them were commissioned by the Medici family.
Bribing
Medici bribed the guards when he was imprisoned by the Albizzi in order to escape.
Bricks
Brunelleschi personally layed bricks down on the dome of the Florence Cathedral because the brick masons didn’t believe that his revolutionary theory would work.
Classical Manuscripts
Manuscripts Cosimo and his father were searching for. Reading them were punishable by excommunication from the church.
Columns
Brunelleschi used columns as support for the first time in 1000 years, creating a revolution in architect.
Concrete
Brunelleschi couldn’t use the same technique as the dome for the Roman Pantheon because of the size of the dome and the recipe for concrete was lost.
Cosimo
A member of the Medici family. He was imprisoned by a rivaling family known as the Albizzi. He funded Brunelleschi to finish the dome of the Florence Cathedral, which ended up being the largest unsupported dome of its time.
Donatello
A famous Renaissance artist who was known for his gold and bronze work skill. He made the bronze sculpture of David which was the first free-standing statue created since ancient rome. He’s also a ninja turtle.
Brunelleschi
Genius architect of the Renaissance, he built the done for the Florence Cathedral, making it the largest free-standing done of its time.
Florence
Brunelleschi was jailed and forced to stop work on the done when his patron was found guilty of treason against florence. It was one of the most popular cities during the Renaissance and was the workplace of many artists at that time.
Gears
Brunelleschi altered the gears on pulleys so he could have the oxen pull the 1700-pound sandstone beams 250 feet in the air and return them to the ground without changing direction.
General Council
Cosimo organized the General Council of Florence,which brought people from all over the world to Florence; including scholars who translated the classical manuscripts Cosimo and his friends had been searching for.
Heresy
Believing anything other than what the church preached. Popes would excommunicate people for commiting heresy.
Pope John XXIII (23)
A pope who was originally a pirate, and wanted to change his ways, so he went to the Medici’s to get funding to start preaching. When he became pope, he made the Medici bank the official bank of the pope, causing a big rise in businness.
Pater Payriar
A name given to Cosimo when he died in 1464, it means father of the fatherlands.
Patronage
Marcello Fantoni: “Patronage is great for the production of art but totally irrational from an economic view. Patronage is a political strategy….high political competition….”
Perspective
An art strategy in which it makes art look in a 3 dimensional way. Invented by Brunelleschi.
Power and Prestige
Cosimo’s patronage of Brunelleschi helped the Medici family gain power and prestige.
Republic
Florence was the only Republic in Europe, but the government was often corrupt.
Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance. (2017, Sep 06). Retrieved from https://artscolumbia.org/medici-godfathers-of-the-renaissance-13655/