Painting, Power and Patronage: Rise of the Professional Artist in Renaissance Italy (Penguin Art & Architecture) by Bram Kempers

by Bram Kempers

The Italian Renaissance is one of the pinnacles of Western culture. Yet how could painters produce masterpieces for clients like the Medici, who saw art largely as a means of glorifying themselves?

To answer that crucial question, aruges Bram Kempers, we need to cut through the myth of the autonomous individual genius and pay far more attention to social constraints. In the period between 1250 and 1600, the power of patronage shifted from the religious orders and city-states into the hands of the great merchant families, and then to the princely and papal courts of Urbino, Florence, and Rome. At the same time, artists from Giotto and Raphael were striving for "professional" status and slowly carving out a sphere for self-expression. Out of such struggles came towering achievement. Professor Kempers, a painter, sociolgist and art historian, pulls these themes together in a superb overview; his book will help everyone see the Renaissance with fressh eyes.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Italy, History

Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[David Samuels · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little scattered, but worthwhile resource overall