The Florentine Renaissance
During the 15th century the period known as the Renaissance began. It was
during this period that many of Florence's most famous buildings were built
and when many of Florence's most famous paintings and sculptures were created.
The transformation of the city that had begun in the 14th century continued
during this period. The period of the Renaissance lasted until the end of
the 16th century.
In the early years of the 15th century architects and sculptors were working
in the service of the commune, the group of the wealthiest cities in Florence.
The entire center of the city was transformed to have the impressive appearance
that it has today. Donatello, the leading the sculptor of the era, created
the Saint George in 1416 and the architect Filippo Brunelleschi rebuilt
the Palazzo dei Capitani della Parte Guelfa (Schevill 330). Under the leadership
of Donatello, Brunelleschi, and Masaccio were the inspiration for the expansion
of fine arts in Florence in the 15th century. The leading citizens of the
city, rather than city officials, saw to the details of the new buildings
(Baron 4p;5).
In the early 15th century the 100 wealthiest families controlled 1/4 of
the city's wealth. One of the wealthiest and most powerful families was
the Medici banking family. In 1434 Cosimo de' Medici took power of Florence.
He devoted large sums of money to the construction of churches, the founding
of monasteries and the building of libraries in Florence.
Cosimo was able to lead the city to prosperity through alliances with other
Italian cities including Milan, and was also a great patron of the arts.
The peace that Cosimo brought to the city allowed many of the city's the
leading families, including the Medici family, to build new palaces. The
Medici family is also responsible for commissioning some of the city's most
magnificent buildings including the monasteries of Santa Croce and Santissima
Annunziata, and the San Marco library. Cosimo built for his family the impressive
Palazzo Medici which was compared to the Roman Colosseum by some of Cosimo's
detractors.
In 1439 Florence became the seat of a General Council of the Church; Cosimo
had used his wealth to persuade the Pope to make Florence the seat. In 1454,
Cosimo relinquished power of Florence, and the powerful oligarchic system
of control was returned. Cosimo had played an important role in the flourishing
Italian Renaissance through his patronage of art and literature (Schevill
367).
While Cosimo's rise to power had resulted in the construction of many palaces
in the first half of the 15th century, in the second half of the century
more than 100 palaces were built (Hibbert 105).
The Medici regained power in Florence when Cosimo's nephew Lorenzo "the
Magnificent" rose to power as the unofficial Head of State in the 1460s.
By this time, the Medici bank had representatives in every major European
city. While not nearly the patron of art that Cosimo had been, Lorenzo did
take great pains to ensure that Tuscan artists were given commissions in
other states, both for their own sakes and for the benefit and glory of
Florence. It was during the 1490s when young Leonardo da Vinci was sent
to Milan to work for Lodovico il Moro. It was also at this time that Lorenzo
recognized the genius of Michelangelo. Lorenzo died in 1492 (Hibbert 137p;150).
In 1494, control of Florence was taken from the Medici family, and the oligarchy
was once again restored. Italy was conquered by the French in 1496. But
the Medici family returned to power once again with the aid of the Pope
in 1530. Florence's Renaissance had slowed by this time; no longer was the
city flourishing as it had under Cosimo. Much of the city was destroyed
in the fighting that led to the return of the Medici (Hibbert 172p;175).
The era of the Medici rule ended in 1737 when Florence began a long period
or cultural decline.
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