Important that art is viewed with the 'period eye' which encompasses, cultural, religious, political and status of the time.
1. Renaissance art, prestige and social class.
A 'crucial tool' of the time was the writings of Aristotle who offered a sort of social code of expenditure which he called 'magnificence'. (p.14) The concept of magnificence is a 'crucial tool' for us in understanding the way in which Renaissance art is viewed. Within all societies there were boundaries to the amount of expenditure and 'show' that an individual could make, according to their social status e.g. the sumptury laws. For the Medici family their public expression required some caution, whilst in private they would go to excess.
2. Viewing religious art in the Renaissance period.
Privatisation of the church describes the increasing expenditure of lay people on religious art, artifacts, buildings e.g. chapels, chancery's, tombs etc. This must be considered in the light of the 'period eye' and of the religious hold on everyday life including the fear of purgatory. There were divisions within Europe as to the way in which religious art should be viewed treated or regarded. These range from the Protestants view that they were just paint and canvas that detracted from worship, and the iconoclasm which saw the destruction of many works during the Reformation, to the Western Catholic view that the works aided meditation and had a didactic role, to those who considered icons to have miraculous powers in themselves.
Conclusion
This introduction highlights the necessity to view art and objects in the context of the time, society, and the culture in which they were produced. The book seeks to build a bridge between our viewing and that of a Renaissance person.
Chapter 1 - Art, Class and Wealth. Rembrant Duits
Introduction
The following chapter seeks to examine Renaissance art as material possession and commodity, and how its ownership permeated every level of society.
1. Catchphrases and concepts.
We are introduced to a number of expressions used by art historians in relation to the Renaissance particularly to the role of patrons. 'Conspicuous waste' and 'conspicuous consumption' were phrases coined by the American economist Thorstein Veblan a follower of Kal Marx. 'Conspicuous waste' refers to the deliberately excessive use of resources e.g. time, labour, money, goods to signify wealth and to keep others from gaining access to the same resources. (Story of Agostino Chigi throwing silver tableware into the Tiber after a banquet. However, this was an act and silverware was retrieved next day having been caught in a net!).
'Conspicuous consumption' refers to the acquisition of commodities beyond the purchasers elementary needs e.g. Chigi's construction of a pleasure villa. He argues that the leisure classes cultivated a certain fastidiousness however, regarding the luxury goods they invested in. It was as much about displaying taste as it was about displaying wealth. They calculated their 'kind' in the distinction between 'right' and 'wrong' in the display of wealth and social status. Adhere to the established pattern and you manifest a sense of class, deviate from it and you expose yourself as a parvenu (dictionary definition - a person who, having risen socially or economically, is considered to be an upstart) with money but no taste.
The expression 'material culture' originates in the field of anthropology where it stands for all material aspects of human civilisation. Its use by historians of Renaissance art is to help them circumvent questions of the artistic status of artifacts raised by the way we view art in our own time. 'Nowadays we are quite used to distinguish between Art with a capital A and the decorative or applied arts' (artisan and craft work) 'the former (Art) a profound emotional and intellectual medium for communication'. For example engaging in Rothko's Seagram murals is art with a capital A, whereas going to the jewellers is the decorative or applied arts. So the idea of 'material culture' embraces all of these items that may have been owned or collected by the Renaissance patron without having to put today's status on the objects.
maiolica = a variant of majolica
maiolica - noun - highly decorated earthenware with a glaze of tin oxide
majolica = –noun 1.Italian earthenware covered with an opaque glaze of tin oxide and usually highly decorated. 2. any earthenware having an opaque glaze of tin oxide.
2. The Working Classes
The working class which represented about 95% of the population earned very little and unlike many of the representations of them in art, were poorly and drably dressed. However, there was opportunity to take part in pilgrimages and to purchase or acquire Pilgrims badges such as scallop shells from Santiago da Compestela and Veronica in St. Peter's in the Vatican. The ownership and wearing of which displayed both status and offered the opportunity to shape a more interesting identity for themselves. This section included pictures from Sodoma (1477-1549) (plate 1.4 Saint Benedict Appears in a Dream of Two Monks and Gives Then the Plan for a New Monastery 1505-08 fresco with added tempera) and the Netherlandish artist Lucas Van Leyden (c.1494-1533) (plate 1.6 The Pilgrims 1508, engraving).
3. Artisans
The section on artisans is based around Petrus Christus (c.1410-75/76) Portrait of a Goldsmith (Willem van Vlueten?), 1449 oil on panel (Plate 1.8) and The Master of Frankfurt Portrait of the Artist and his Wife, 1496 oil on panel (Plate 1.9) Both of which project the image of the artisans through displays of owned objects, cloths, suggested patrons and in the case of the artist a display of his artistic skills. Artisans earned considerably more than workmen such as bricklayers and their enhanced social status allowed them more opportunity for 'conspicuous consumption'.
4. Doctors
Once again this section talks of the ways in which through depiction in portraits doctors showed their status, wealth, pride and claims of proficiency. As in the previous sections comparisons are made as to the earnings of doctors compared to labourers and masons etc. Special mention is made of the value of gold brocade and how this was simulated by painting on a four poster bed. This section concluded by referring to portraits struck on bronze medals, far more expensive than painting and an even more pretentious claim to status and display of wealth. (Plate1.13).
5. Entrepreneurs
This section reviews the material culture of self made merchants and their sponsorship and purchase of works of art such as the Primavera, and church frescoes as memorials and funerary chapels such as The Sassetti Chapel in Santa Trinita, Florence. The actual worth and value of their possessions is discussed often comparing the value of the work of art against other possessions which at the time were seen to have a higher worth noted in florins and ducats.
6. Women
Women as such are not highly regarded or recorded as patrons, particularly of printing, architecture and sculpture. It is likely however, that they were patrons and commissioners of works such as jewelry, manuscript and tapestry. The role of the woman within the material culture was almost akin to a possession and were often seen as objects of 'conspicuous consumption' showing off their husbands and male relations status and wealth.
7. Bankers and Collections
Here we read of the merchants and entrepreneurs who as well as investing in businesses themselves such as silk production, also entered the world of banking, providing loans to third parties and charging interest. They became extremely wealthy, the most well known being the Medici's in Florence. This wealth allowed them to indulge in 'conspicuous consumption' in the purchase of items of no practical use e.g. Tazza Farnese (pl 1.19 p.43) Illustrated above. The competition for these items increased their value, and their display in the homes and studies of their owners was part displaying status and identity, and part identity creation itself.
8. Princes
In the previous sections the chapter has led us through a progression of social orders each more wealthier than the previous. The very top of this order were the princes. The families that provided the kings, emperors and rulers of Europe, their wealth maintained and increased through taxes. Their position and wealth comparable today to only that of nation states. The big difference being however, that a large proportion of this wealth was for the personal use of the ruler and his family members. In art terms this led to 'conspicuous consumption' of an incredible order, such as, the gold statue on display today in the Cathedral of Leige (pl 1.20 p.45) which shows Charles the Bold and promotes his position and image. It becomes apparent within this section that painting was not seen as the highest of art forms. Textiles, altar cloths, and church ornaments and vestments carried a very high status, which in turn often gave these princely families a comparative status with figures from Christianity and Christ's family.
9. Institutions
Outside of the normal social hierarchy institutions such as the church, the military or affinities to one's city or state were the only ways in which many could jointly take part in any form of material culture or conspicuous consumption. In art history terms, this has traditionally focused on guilds and scuola's particularly in Italy, but this was a phenomena that was widespread across Europe as can be seen in the Banner made for the City of Ghent. (Pl.1.26 p.51). Within the military and the church was the opportunity for individuals to rise in social status and hence display more conspicuous consumption to promote their own status and identity. Mercenary soldiers developed a taste for flamboyant and colourful uniforms (pl. 1.27 p.52) and Richard Fox rose from obscurity to become Bishop on Winchester and commissioned a bishop's crosier of silver gilt and enamel (pl.1.30 p.54) which incorporated the pelican as his own personal emblem.
10. Conclusion
This chapter has attempted to show that Renaissance art was a far wider ranging concept from that generally considered today. Today we focus historically on just a select few painters and sculptors, but the Renaissance patron regarded goldsmiths, weavers, armour makers, carpenters, architects of equal importance when it came to material culture and conspicuous consumption. The final thoughts of this chapter focus on the construction of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, designed by Donato Bramante (1443/4 - 1514) worked on by Raphael and concluded by Michelangelo as 'quite possibly the most influential and expensive project of conspicuous consumption devised by man'(p.55).
Appendix : Types of money and exchange rates
Important information regarding different European currencies and exchange rates.
