Download During the Renaissance, art was driven by civic, family

Callie Bagwell
January 30, 2006
How Civic, Family, and Personal Pride was a Driving Force of Renaissance Art
During the Renaissance, art was driven by civic, family, and personal pride. Art was a way
for wealthy families, governments, and churches to show their values, show off their money,
capture a portrait of a relative, or show their reverence. A work of art was normally commissioned
by a person or group. Artists of that time viewed their work as a job. An experienced artist worked
in a bottega with his apprentices or assistants and produced mainly altarpieces and movable
pictures. His work focused on whatever his commissioner asked for. Artists rarely painted a
picture or carved a statue for any other reason than to satisfy a patron. This meant that the subject
of these paintings was not just the artist’s ideas, but a combination of his as well as his patron’s.
This goes for architecture as well. Many buildings were commissioned by individuals as private
residences, and of course their own personal pride would come into account when it came down to
the design of the structures. They would want their palazzo to stand taller than the others, be the
largest, the most beautiful, or the most interesting. It was this way with churches and government
buildings as well.
One display of family pride that I remember distinctly from our trip is Madonna of the
House of Pessaro by Titian. It is in the Church of the Frari in Venice, and was finished in 1526.
The Pessaro family commissioned this painting to Titian after he became the official painter of
Venice. The painting depicts Jacapo Pessaro, commander of the papal fleet, and as well as five
members of his family, a warrior displaying the family’s coat of arms, and the Virgin and St. Peter
positioned above them. The warrior is presenting a captured Turk as a trophy, in reference to the
battle of Santa Maura won by Jacopo Pessaro. This painting places the Pessaro family in the
same time frame as the Virgin and St. Peter, and makes them seem worthy of being in the
presence of these saints. It is a perfect example of how family pride was a factor that influenced
many Renaissance paintings.
Callie Bagwell
January 30, 2006
Another important work that displays civic pride is Simone Martini’s Maesta that covers the
entire east wall of the Room of the Council in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. It is his adaption of
Duccio’s Maesta altarpiece, but has a more secular look and setting. It shows the saints of Siena
on the front row, but he added more details that give the painting a more worldly air. It has a blue
background, not gold, and has an expansive canopy like the ones that they used in Sienese
processions. The throne is gilded and intricate, the baby is standing with a scroll that says “Love
justice, you who rule the earth.” There is even a piece of glass for the brooch on the Virgin’s dress.
The reason Martini changed Duccio’s portrayal is most likely because of the location and function
of the painting. It hangs in the meeting room of the principal legislative body, where they voted and
debated. The Virgin, the principal patron saint of Siena, was to watch over them and preside over
their proceedings. This fresco was to inspire Siena’s counselors and portray civic pride.
The Carafa Chapel, dedicated to the Virgin and to St. Thomas Aquinas, of the Santa Maria
sopra Minerva in Rome, is another example of the family pride that drove development of
Renaissance art. This was the chapel of Cardinal Oliviero Carafa, who commanded the papal fleet
in battle against the Turks. The decoration has three main themes: Carafa, as prince of the church,
Carafa as protector of the Dominican Order, and a celebration of his qualities. On the vault are
Medici emblems and those of the Carafa, symbolizing the close relationship between the two
families. On the right hand wall are scenes from the life of St Thomas Aquinas. The altar wall has
an Assumption and the central part of the wall an Annunciation and Aquinas presenting Cardinal
Carafa to the Virgin. This chapel, and most chapels we saw, is one more example of how
family/personal pride drove the completion of the Renaissance art we study today.