From Botticelli to Tiziano

Masterpieces from Two Hundred Years of the Italian Renaissance

Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

2009
 György E. Szőnyi

The World of the Italian Renaissance

For many people, the Renaissance is rooted in the T HE NO T I ON OF T HE RENA I SSANCE

notion of a rebirth of civilization in Europe and the AND I T S H I S T OR I O G RA P H Y

outset of our modern age. Consider these words and

phrases from studies, readings, and exhibition-expe- For over a century, scholars have claimed that the Ren-
riences: the discovery of antiquity, man-centred world aissance was “invented” by the Swiss historian Jacob
view, the Italian genius: Botticelli, Leonardo, and Burckhardt in his The Culture of the Italian Renais-
Michel­angelo; the sonnets of Petrarch and the plays sance, published in 1860.1 In fact, he borrowed the
of Shakespeare; the courage of the navigator Colum- term Renaissance from his French colleague, Jules
bus and the astronomical revolution of Copernicus; Michelet, in whose 1855 History of France the volume
humanist scholarship and witchcraft trials; splendour, on the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was entitled
courtly culture, high life; Reformation, puritanism, La renaissance. He also coined the phrase “discovery
religious wars. It is a true if simplified picture: the of the world and of man”,2 which Burckhardt then
Renaissance was all this and much more – and equally, adapted to the Italian quattrocento and cinquecento.
it should continue to have a more significant mean- The main themes in this book were “the state as a
ing for us today. work of art”, “the development of the individual”, “the
This exhibition reveals many of the secrets, revival of antiquity”, “the discovery of the world and
beauties, and wonders of the Italian Renaissance to of man”, “society and festivals, morals and religion”.
the fortunate visitor; and while one enjoys the time- It is only natural that Burckhardt saw the Ren-
less harmony or the intellectual and artistic tensions aissance through the filter of his own age. In the intro-
beneath the surface, one is well advised to look back duction to his book he remarked: “To each eye, per-
Pesellino at this cultural period from a historical perspective haps, the outlines of a given civilization present a dif-
Episodes from the Story and reflect on the motivations that triggered the art- ferent picture; and in treating of a civilization which
of Griselda: Gualtieri ists of the era to create their magnificent works. Also, is the mother of our own, and whose influence is still
and the Citizens of Saluzzo it is worth taking a moment to consider the way in at work among us, it is unavoidable that individual
(detail) which subsequent generations have continually re- judgement and feeling should tell every moment both
ca. 1445–1450 interpreted the achievements of the Renaissance, and on the writer and on the reader. In the wide ocean upon
Accademia Carrara, how they have integrated them into their own intel- which we venture, the possible ways and directions
Bergamo lectual and artistic worlds. are many; and the same studies which have served for

The World of the Italian Renaissance 19

this work might easily, in other hands, not only receive pact of classical texts in the early modern period and
a wholly different treatment and application, but lead their recycling by the humanists.6
also to essentially different conclusions.”3 The “medium” Renaissance involves broader cul-
This quote leads to two important conclusions. tural resurgence, setting out from the revisiting of
The first is that Burckhardt was aware that his view classical antiquity, but contextualized into a wider
of the Renaissance was only one among many pos- cultural perspective: looking at the Renaissance ide-
sible interpretations. At the same time he deliber- ology of “dignity of man”, and understanding hu-
ately emphasized that he looked at the Renaissance manism as a programme for advancing the individu-
as a major precursor to his own time. He pinpointed al, the state and society as a whole. This trend origi-
individualism as the hallmark of the new age and nates from Burckhardt, who also claimed that the
new ideology that had initiated the long process that revival of antiquity in Italy provoked a neo-pagan, an-
led to the Enlightenment, to liberalism, and to the ticlerical turn. Later scholars criticized him for ignor-
ideals of the nineteenth-century bourgeoisie. His in- ing the deeply Christian devotion of humanists, es-
tention to discover the cradle of his own civilization pecially in the North, such as Erasmus of Rotterdam.
determined what he could and wanted to see in and Eugenio Garin was another advocate of the “medium”
from the Italian Renaissance. This bias earned him Renaissance, focusing on the relationship of the new
much criticism from subsequent historians, but to- individual and his social environment and thus creat-
day, when relativism and personalism are highly val- ing the famous category of “civic humanism”.7
ued, it seems to be one of Burckhardt’s attractive fea- The “large” Renaissance constitutes an independ-
tures as a historian. ent and complex age, defined historically and cultur-
Another shortcoming of Burckhardt’s text is that ally, with a specific socioeconomic background; and
he practically neglected socioeconomic and cultural also an era which developed and embraced many, of-
developments outside Italy. He believed that the break ten contradictory, ideologies and tendencies. How-
with the dark and colourless uniformity of the Mid- ever suspicious such generalizations seem to be today,
dle Ages was an achievement of Italy and its people.4 when scholarship tends to reject “grand historical nar-
It is not surprising that he considered the revival of ratives”, one should admit that even this broadest no-
antiquity to be the most important feature of the tion inspired some impressive concepts, at times origi-
Italian Renaissance, since, indeed, humanist scholar- nating in a non-dogmatic, open adoption of Marxism
ship, as well as the architectural and artistic revolu- (Arnold Hauser, Tibor Klaniczay).8
tion, were founded on rediscovered classical texts and Today, Renaissance research focuses on explor-
the ideas distilled from them. ing smaller details rather than aiming at “great” new
The “rebirth of antiquity” remains a central issue syntheses. Popular issues include gender, approach-
of Renaissance scholarship to date, although it has es to the body, questions of power, and the birth of
been integrated into a much wider and more complex the modern ego – all typically “postmodern” prob-
field. In her recent work on the Renaissance, Marga- lems.9 The largest current project in the field is un-
ret L. King divides scholarly approaches into three doubtedly the twelve-volume Italian handbook in
groups, designating a Renaissance “small, medium, which important essays by eminent international
5
or large”. The most restricted notion focuses on the scholars are compiled, exploring such territories as
revival of antiquity, classical forms and ideas. This no- historiography, economy, society, science, arts, and
tion already had adherents before Burckhardt (Georg various aspects of everyday life from education to
Voigt), and in the last century its most notable pro- sex, from devotion to superstitions, from family life
ponent was Paul Oskar Kristeller. Today, Anthony to health and hygiene. The geographical perspective
Grafton maintains this tradition, addressing the im- is all-European, tracing the diffusion of Renaissance

20 György E. Szőnyi
ideals and practices across the Continent.10 Thus it something familiar yet remote, and which takes con-
seems an apt conclusion to this historiographical scious scholarly work to be revived.
introduction to recall that although the present exhi- Petrarch’s works laid the foundations of the two
bition is restricted to Italian achievements, the idea great trends of Renaissance literature. Africa, his epic
of the Renaissance is a broader, pan-European phe- poem in Latin, his letters and treatises make him the
nomenon. progenitor of humanism, while his Italian poetry pi-
oneered an even greater turn. His book of songs (Can-
zoniere) is the first major vernacular output to have
T HE OR I G I NS OF T HE RENA I SSANCE broken away from medieval poetry and institute the
conventions of a new lyrical voice. Thus he triggered
The origins of the Renaissance should undoubtedly be the fashion of “Petrarchism”, a voice that dominated
sought around Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca, 1304– European poetry for over two hundred years. The de-
1374), a poet born into a family of Florentine exiles in velopment of the sonnet form, still considered to be
Arezzo. To most scholars, he was the first humanist. one of the most perfect concise lyrical structures, is
Petrarch’s life and work include at least five symbolic also due to Petrarch.13
motifs from which one can deduce the fundamental Yet Petrarch left posterity with still more sym-
ambitions and accomplishments of the Renaissance. bolic accomplishments. On April 26, 1336, the poet
In 1345 Petrarch discovered a collection of letters and his brother climbed the steep Mont Ventoux near
by Cicero, which made him realize the broader social Avignon. What made this Alpine event famous is the
and historical importance of letters. As a result, he detailed description of his motivations laid out in one
began to collect and edit his own epistolary exchang- of his letters: he was not driven by a desire to research
es, eventually preparing them for wider circulation. or gather knowledge, rather, “sola videndi insignem loci
Two of these letters are addressed to Cicero himself. altitudinem cupiditate ductus” – “only out of desire to
In the first one he addresses the Roman as if they were see the unusual altitude of the place”.14
dear old friends, personally acquainted: In itself a noteworthy occasion, we might see in
it the beginnings of the discovery of nature and a
Your letters I sought for long and diligently; and fi- trial of an individual’s capabilities. However, of equal
nally, where I least expected it, I found them. And interest is what occurred when Petrarch reached the
as I read I seemed to hear your bodily voice, O Marcus top. Once he had taken in the view, he used that unu-
Tullius, ranging through many phases of thought sual geographic setting for an introspective philosoph-
and feeling. I long had known how excellent a guide ical meditation on his own life. He took Saint Augus-
you have proved for others; at last I was to learn what tine’s Confessions from his pocket and it opened at the
sort of guidance you gave yourself. 11
following text: “Men go to admire the heights of moun-
tains, the great floods of the sea, the shores of the ocean,
While Petrarch treated Cicero as his contemporary and the orbits of the stars, and neglect themselves.”15
and neighbour, he was also the first to notice the rift Thus, his attention first diverted from nature toward a
in era around the fourth century CE that divides an- religious train of thought, Petrarch finally was led to
tiquity from his own age. Petrarch referred to the feel enthusiasm for antiquity and to anticipate the
classical period as “clear scintillation” clouded by the Renaissance notion of the dignity of man: “I was an-
darkness of a middling epoch, the medium aevum, gry at myself because I still admired earthly things,
but one that ought to re-emerge from the oblivion of I who should have learned long ago from the pagan
12
Lethe. Petrarch’s attitude reveals that he discovered philosophers that nothing is admirable but the soul;
the paradox of historical time, seeing antiquity as to it when it is great, nothing is great.”16

The World of the Italian Renaissance 21

 Petrarch had occasion to sample another coveted morality and Christian piety, but also a genuine and
experience of the Renaissance, that of literary fame. purer literature, may come to renewed life or greater
His scholarship and poetry attracted a great deal of splendour …. I congratulate this our age, which bids
admiration while he was still alive. The more he learnt fair to be an age of gold, if ever such there was!18
about the customs of antiquity, the more he desired
to become a poeta laureatus. Indeed, in 1340 he received Giorgio Vasari, Italian, 1550: For having seen in
two invitations, both seeking to honour him for his what way Art, from a small beginning, climbed to
poetry: the first was from the great centre of medieval the greatest height, and how from a state so noble
scholarship at the University of Paris; the second was she fell into utter ruin, and that, in consequence,
from the Senate of Rome. In the end he chose the latter the nature of this art is similar to that of the others,
and in 1341 the Roman patrician, Orso dell’Anguillara, which, like human bodies, have their birth, their
placed the laurels on Petrarch’s forehead. Since he growing old, and their death; they will now be able
was the first poet to be distinguished this way since to recognize more easily the progress of her second
classical times, it is justly said that Petrarch was, in birth [il progresso della sua rinascita] and of that very
his person and career, the embodiment of the rebirth perfection whereto she has risen again in our times.19
of antiquity.
This notion brings us to question the extent to Loys Le Roy, French, 1575: Now, just as the tartars,
which the people of the Renaissance were consciously Turks, Mamelukes, and Persians have by their val-
aware of the fact that they lived in “the Renaissance”. our drawn to the East the glory of arms, so we have
Although the term was not their invention, they were here in the West in the last two hundred years re-
more than conscious of the special character of their covered the excellence of good letters and brought
time. Petrarch’s binary view of history – antiquity back the study of the disciplines after they had long
and the Middle Ages – was developed into a tripar- remained as if extinguished. The sustained industry
tite concept: after the medium aevum there arrived of many learned men has led to such success that
a new golden epoch, the age of Petrarch’s followers. today this our age can be compared to the most learned
A small selection of quotations clearly demon- times that ever were.20
strates this view:
These four quotations span a hundred years, testimo-
Marsilio Ficino, Italian, 1472: What the poets ny that the people of the fifteenth and sixteenth cen-
once sung of the four ages, lead, iron, silver, and turies were well aware of the excellence of their age,
gold. If then we are to call any age to be golden, it which primarily resulted from the revival of classical
is beyond doubt that age, which brings forth golden arts and culture. Although they did not use the term
talents in different places. That such is true of this “Renaissance”, Vasari’s expression “rinascita” can be con-
our age he who wishes to consider the illustrious sidered to be an equivalent.
discoveries of this century will hardly doubt. For At this point, we come to a difficult question
this century, like a golden age, has restored to light concerning the factors that motivated the people of
the liberal arts which were almost extinct.17 the Renaissance era: what inspired them to engage
academically and artistically in a rapid and revolu-
Erasmus of Rotterdam, Dutch, 1517: I anticipate tionary re-examination of the entire body of writings
the near approach of a golden age, so clearly do we of antiquity? This question becomes even more salient
see the minds of princes, as if changed by inspira- when we realize that these same texts had been tech-
tion, devoting all their energies to the pursuit of nically continuously “at the disposal” of every gener-
peace …. I am led to confident hope that not only ation for the thousand years between the collapse of

22 György E. Szőnyi
Ambrogio Lorenzetti
Effects of Good Government
in the City (detail)
1338–1339
Palazzo Pubblico,
Sala della Pace, Siena

ancient Rome and Petrarch. Consequently, we must Italian merchants, however, began to regain
ask: why did this all take place? And why did it start their bygone power by around the first millennium
in Italy? and strengthened their position in Mediterranean
commerce. They traded inland commodities – salt
and metals – and the fish of coastal waters for Eastern
T HE CA T AL Y s ERS OF T HE I T AL I AN RENA I SSANCE luxury products. By the early twelfth century, cru-
sades fuelled a boom in the peninsular economy:
The success of the Italian Renaissance was rooted in transport and supply of the Christian army units and
the economic profit and social dynamism of the pre- managing financial transactions between Europe and
ceding medieval period, a success story that emerged the Holy Land was a lucrative business, and these
from tragedy. After the fall of the Western Roman activities were concentrated in the northern Italian
Empire circa 476 CE, the economy of Italy decayed, cities of Genoa, Venice, Milan and Florence.
the cities were depopulated. The population of Rome, Trade quickly boosted production in both raw
for example, fell from two million inhabitants at the materials and manufactured goods: a hungry market
time of the first emperors, to 90,000 by the accession absorbed agricultural surpluses and helped to stimu-
of Pope Gregory the Great (590 CE), and a mere late urban population growth, thus providing the
35,000 by the twelfth century. When Petrarch first demographic basis for the development of manufac-
visited Rome in 1337, he was appalled by the degen- ture, especially that of textiles. Florence quickly rose
eration and destruction of what had been the greatest to excellence in the wool industry, and this Tuscan
city on Earth. city also developed into a very potent banking centre
Mediterranean commerce, which was still a prof- that became the hub of the financial world. Wealth
itable enterprise, came to be dominated by Byzantine contributed to cultural development and ambition
Greek and Arab merchants. The great urban centres in decoration, too. This can be illustrated in the
of the early Middle Ages were the cities of Constan- words of Benedetto Dei who in 1472 boasted of the
tinople, Alexandria, Córdoba, Baghdad and Damascus. power and riches of his city as follows:

The World of the Italian Renaissance 23

 We have … the trades of wool and silk …. The number Catalan painter
of banks amounts to thirty-three; the shops of cab- The Triumph of Death
inet-makers, whose business is carving and inlaid (from Palazzo Sclafani)

work, to eighty-four; and the workshops of the stone- mid-fifteenth century

cutters and marble workers in the city and its im- Galleria Regionale della Sicilia,

mediate neighbourhood, to fifty-four. There are forty- Palermo

four goldsmiths’ and jewellers’ shops, thirty gold-­

beaters, silver-wire-drawers, and a wax-figure maker….
Another flourishing industry is the making of light
and elegant gold and silver wreaths and garlands,
which are worn by young maidens of high degree,
and which have given their names to the artist fam-
ily of Ghirlandajo. Sixty-six is the number of the
apothecaries’ and grocer shops; seventy that of the
butchers, … it would awaken the dead in its praise.21
political manipulations within these “republics”.
An interesting social phenomenon, unknown As Margaret King summarizes: “For although this
in other parts of Europe, also catalyzed thriving man- communal system of government was republican, in
ufacture and trade. In northern Italy the nobility did the sense that no single king or lord or tyrant could
not isolate themselves from the inhabitants of the cit- rule unchecked, but all decisions were made by a
ies in secluded rural castles; instead they moved into duly elected or appointed council or committee, it
towns and actively participated in their political and was not democratic. The people themselves – the
economic management. Since in urban economy busi- growing groups of merchants below the level of the
ness skills and liquid capital were more important great magnate entrepreneurs, the artisans, and the
than anything else, class distinctions were much less labourers, not to mention the foreigners, prostitutes,
idiosyncratic in these Italian cities than in other Eu- beggars, and the desperately poor – had no role what-
ropean feudal societies. Historians call this “the com- ever in the political process.”23 We could add that not
munal revolution”, which produced a new social only prostitutes but women in general were excluded
strata, the urban elite, in which the economically ac- from politics, since only taxpaying males had the
tive nobility and the rich burghers allied to monopo- right to vote in these councils.
22
lize power as “the great men” (grandi). The first communal revolutions were followed
As can be expected, this transformation did not by further radical changes. Italian city-states soon
take place without conflicts. Often it began with the split into two political camps and while the cities –
nouveau riche rising against local centres of feudal led by emperor-supported ghibellins and pope-sup-
power – usually the local bishops – and eventually ported guelphs – also fought against each other, in
they clashed with the political powers representing some urban centres (especially in Florence) workers
the Holy Roman Empire. Internal struggles shortly also revolted and political power was temporarily
unfolded within the communes, too. By the twelfth seized by the popolo (1250–1260). Dante Alighieri was
century almost all important northern Italian cities also personally involved in the guelph–ghibellin con-
had some sort of representative government, which flict and was ultimately forced into exile. Petrarch
was hailed by “Whig” historians as the first modern remained an outsider and watched these calamities
victory of republicanism. More recent works, however, with deep sadness until the cataclysm of the Black
also call attention to the deep divisions and ruthless Death brought about their end in 1348.

24 György E. Szőnyi
 Between 1348 and 1351 the plague swept over T HE W ORLD OF T HE Q U A T T ROCEN T O

the greater part of Europe, killing about half of the

Continent’s population. With around 25–50 million The Italy of 1400 was quite different to that of 1350
people dead, the greatest Italian cities, as well as the and before. The fever of republicanism was gone, the
24
small villages, became semi-deserted. volatile economy and political system of cities be-
After the epidemic neither Europe or Italy was as came settled. By the fifteenth century two types of
it had been. Some historians, such as Johann Huizinga rule had crystallized: elitist republic and despotism.
or Jean Delumeau, have argued that the splendour of By the end of the quattrocento only four republics
the Renaissance was restricted to a narrow ruling and remained of the dozens of communes of the preceding
intellectual class, while the rest lived in poverty, “fear, century: Florence, Venice, Siena and Lucca.26 From
anxiety, and insecurity” until the eighteenth century these four, it must be noted that the first two became
when rationalism and the Enlightenment saved man- the models for Italian republicanism.
25
kind from the terrors of the Black Death. More re- In 1268 a revolution established the second re-
cent studies contest this static view. Samuel Cohn public (secondo popolo) in Florence, which survived
and others have argued that the shock caused by the until 1494, the ecclesiastical dictatorship of Savon-
plague – manifested for example by the ecstatic pag- arola. Around 1410 actual power fell into the hands
eants of flagellants and anti-Semitic pogroms during of the Medici family, who nevertheless, oddly, never
and soon after the epidemic – was quickly replaced by took the formal titles of dukes or princes. The pater
agitation and willpower. Medieval doctors tried to im- familias, Cosimo de’ Medici “il vecchio” – in posses-
plement hygienic and pharmacological methods to sion of incredible riches and with the help of an in-
curb the pandemic. Municipal councils in many towns tricate web of clientele – became the virtual ruler of
created regulations to normalize life. Thus the plague, Florence and led the city to such prosperity that in
albeit paradoxically, paved the way for the cultural the end the citizens gave him the title pater patriae,
flowering of the Renaissance to begin soon after. father of the fatherland. Due to his successful foreign

View of Florence
Hartmann Schedel,
Liber Chronicarum
Nuremberg, 1493,
ff. 86v–87r
Szépművészeti Múzeum,
Budapest

The World of the Italian Renaissance 25

 Jacopo de’ Barbari
View of Venice
1498–1500
Museo Correr, Venice

policy Florence emerged as the leading city-state of Luciano Laurana

northern Italy and this status was strengthened in Courtyard of the ducal
1439 when Pope Eugene IV called for an ecumenical palace at Urbino
synod here. The city hosted not only the secular and construction begun
ecclesiastical leaders of Europe but also many Greek in 1466
scholars, including Gemisthus Pletho, whose lectures
in that classical language greatly contributed to its
revival.
Venice rid itself of Byzantine rule around 1000
CE and in 1172 the autocratic state of the doges (dux,
duke) was replaced by a republic. From this time on,
the leader, the doge, was elected by a great council,
consisting of the merchant elite of the city. This coun-
cil functioned like a closed cast: the constituent fam-
ilies were verified in the famous “golden books”, and on birthright, becoming effective as a result of suc-
no new names could be included on the lists. cessful techniques of power, so memorably described
While the economic power of Florence resulted by Niccolò Machiavelli in The Prince (1513, published
from the banking and textile industries, the greatness 1532). In most cases it was a member of the city mag-
of Venice lay in trade, seafaring, and shipbuilding. nates, a knight in arms, who seized power; this is how
The two republics rivalled each other for centuries, Milan was ruled by the descendants of an archbishop,
causing much mutual harm and damage; however, the Visconti, or Verona by the Scala (Scaliger), or Fer-
the culture of the Renaissance profited greatly from rara by the Este, Mantua by the Gonzaga, or Urbino
their competition as these city-states strove to outdo by the Montefeltro.
each other in their cultural achievements. In other cases mercenary leaders, so-called con-
Beside the republics, by the year 1400, in most dottiere, became “dukes”, such as Ezzelino da Romano
places some form of despotism, signoria, came into in Padua, or the most famous, Francesco Sforza in Mi-
27
existence. Typically these dictatorships were not based lan. The latter arrived in that town as the military rep-

26 György E. Szőnyi
Books and scientific instruments
in a cabinet with the door ajar
(inlaid panel from the studiolo
of Federico da Montefeltro)
completed around 1476
Palazzo Ducale, Urbino

resentative of Venice in order to depose the Visconti, ing Renaissance culture, art, and manners from Italy
but having won the city, he remained to establish a to the still-medieval central European regions.28
new dynasty of despots (1450). The Sforza were so At this point, we should define the major areas
quickly accepted among the European royal houses of Renaissance development in these rich republics
that by the end of the fifteenth century major rulers and the flourishing signoria. The first is the relatively
were competing for the hands of Sforza daughters, open society that resulted in a vivid and innovative
such as Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (who lifestyle, primarily manifest in the spreading of hu-
married Bianca Maria Sforza in 1494), or King Sigis- manist literature and the proliferation of classical
mund I (“the Old”) of Poland (he wed Bona Sforza in texts and commentaries upon them by independent
1518). The latter actually imitated his late east-central- humanist scholars. This type of cultural activity was
European “colleague”, the Hungarian Matthias Cor- more attached to the courts and civic governments
vinus, who had previously married Beatrice of Naples. than to the universities which themselves remained
Both Italian queens were instrumental in transplant- bastions of semi-medieval conservatism. The rediscov-

The World of the Italian Renaissance 27

 Piero della Francesca
Portrait of Battista Sforza
after 1472
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

ery of all the major classical authors brought about “Do not believe, that to flee the crowd, to avoid the
the development of new disciplines of humanist schol- sight of attractive objects, to shut oneself in a cloister
arship: textology, linguistics, historical philology, and or to go off to a hermitage is the way to perfection.”29
a new appreciation for rhetoric. The overall impor- It is no accident that republican humanists of-
tance for human posterity of all these fields of study ten engaged in the day-to-day politics of their city-
is self-evident. At the same time, a new type of free states. The famous humanist chroniclers of Florence
and critical spirit emerged that glorified human dig- – Salutati and Leonardo Bruni – were at the same
nity (the treatises of Giannozzo Manetti and Pico della time the chancellors of the city. Later, Machiavelli
Mirandola are well known), and developed a new ap- and his younger friend and rival, Francesco Guicciar-
proach to politics and society. In 1398 Coluccio Salu- dini the historian, were likewise employed by the local
tati, the chancellor of the Florentine Republic, clearly government.30 One of the most important humanist
indicated the changes with his following remark: activities was correspondence. In spite of the primi-

28 György E. Szőnyi
 Piero della Francesca
Portrait of Federico da Montefeltro
after 1472
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

tive communication-infrastructure of contemporary agated new pedagogical ideals (like Pier Paolo Vergerio
Europe, it is fascinating to see how intellectuals, liv- in his treatise, On the Noble Character and Liberal Stud-
ing in various points of Italy and even far beyond its ies of Youth 31) and promptly put them into practice in
borders, formed intricate networks and cooperated on their new type of private schools and academies.32
the recovery of classical works and values, at the same Humanist learning affected even the technical
time also spreading their new ideology. This is what aspects of the artistic revolution of the quattrocento.
even they dubbed respublica litteraria, the republic When we speak about the development of the arts in
of letters. Renaissance Italy the emphasis often falls on the im-
One of the first fruits of humanism can be de- provements of techné, such as the discovery of per-
tected in the sphere of education. While universities spectival painting, the triumph of representing the
of this era merely transferred knowledge and did not human face and body, and the novel use of oil paint.
engage in its overall advancement, the humanists prop- It is agreed that the best example of these inventions

The World of the Italian Renaissance 29

are Giotto’s Madonnas, Masaccio’s Crucifixion, Man- and Primavera), are well-known examples in whose Francesco del Cossa
tegna’s Dead Christ, and the portraits of Piero della symbolism art historians have identified the ideas of April (detail):
33
Francesca framed by airy landscapes. the Florentine Neoplatonic Academy. The Palio di San Giorgio
Beyond all this, one should also take note of the Another famous case: in 1469 Borso d’Este, before 1470
topical innovations, such as the new vogue for pagan duke of the State of Ferrara, entrusted Francesco del Palazzo Schifanoia,
mythological themes. The programme of such paint- Cossa to paint a fresco series in the great hall of his Salone dei Mesi, Ferrara
ings was often compiled by learned humanists. The summer palace, the Palazzo Schifanoia. The artwork
mythological canvases of Botticelli (The Birth of Venus was to have cosmic and astrological meaning and the

(left) Lorenzo Ghiberti

The Sacrifice of Isaac
(panel for the competition
for the door of the baptistery
in Florence)
ca. 1401
Museo Nazionale
del Bargello, Florence

(right) Filippo Brunelleschi

The Sacrifice of Isaac
(panel for the competition
for the door of the baptistery
in Florence)
ca. 1401
Museo Nazionale
del Bargello, Florence

30 György E. Szőnyi
 Palazzo Venezia, the palace
of Pope Paul II in Rome

artist was provided with an erudite astrological and psychological aspects, while Brunelleschi’s explored
mythological programme compiled by the ducal li- the dramatic tension of the event. In the end Ghi-
brarian, Pellegrino Prisciani. The secret pagan-astro- berti received the commission, though some claimed
logical references of some parts of the frescoes were that the primary criterion was financial. He employed
soon forgotten, and it was only Aby Warburg in the a new technology of casting which required less bronze,
early twentieth century who could decipher their thus undercutting his competitor.37
precise meaning, following his discovery of Prisciani’s Rulers, princes, dukes, aristocrats and despots
treatise in the archives of Ferrara.34 were generous patrons, but the hierarchy of patronage
The renewal of Renaissance architecture also embraced almost the whole society. Commissions were
underlines the broader intellectual role of the human- given by popes, prelates, abbots, churches and monas-
ists. No doubt, the classical ruins of Italy and surviv- teries; merchants, burghers, guilds, even artisans. The
ing buildings such as the Pantheon in Rome provided competition for good masters and outstanding works
first-hand examples of the skills of ancient Roman soon elevated the artists from the cast of craftsmen and
architects and builders. The first great Renaissance turned them into coveted stars with considerable so-
architects, Filarete and Alberti, however, also used a cial standing. These changes in the prestige of the vis-
rediscovered text, the treatise of the Roman Vitruvius ual artists triggered a heated theoretical debate about
(first century CE), when they recreated the order and the primacy of the arts (ut pictura poesis), and the art-
proportion of Greek and Roman columns.35 ists came to be seen almost as divine creators.38
The catalyst of art was the patronage system, and The Renaissance had its greatest flowering in
in quattrocento Italy, whoever had money became a northern Italy, especially in Tuscany and in the Vene-
patron.36 The cities themselves supported the arts by to. One should not forget, however, about the south-
important commissions, and in this field too, Flor- ern and central parts of the peninsula either. Naples
ence was ahead. There were famous contests called and Sicily remained feudal kingdoms throughout the
for certain commissions. Thus in 1401 the city council period, first under Angevin rule, then when acquired
opened a competition to create the new relief-deco- by the Spanish house of Aragon. The economy of this
rated bronze doors of the Battistero, next to the Duo- region was primarily based on agriculture as opposed
mo. There were seven contestants and the jury asked to the trading and manufacturing revolution of the
two of them – Ghiberti and Brunelleschi – to submit North. All this said, the kings of Naples were not willing
a trial piece representing Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. to lag behind the prosperous neighbours, so by the sec-
Both works were masterpieces filled with Renaissance ond half of the fifteenth century an important Ren-
spirit but in different ways. Ghiberti’s emphasized aissance centre developed here, too. The major patron

The World of the Italian Renaissance 31

 Melozzo da Forlì
Pope Sixtus IV Appoints
Bernardo Platina Prefect
of the Vatican Library
ca. 1476–1477
Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome

was Ferdinand I (born 1423, ruled 1458–1494), the fa- (1305–1378). This was followed by the Great Schism
ther of Matthias Corvinus’s above-mentioned spouse (1378–1415), in the worst moments of which no fewer
Beatrice.39 than three elected popes competed and warred with
Last but not least, one must look at Rome, a sad- each other. Things improved in 1418 when Martin V
ly decrepit, provincial place in Petrarch’s day, but one moved the papal seat back to Rome, and from that
experiencing stunning development by the second half time until the onset of the Reformation in 1517 one of
of the cinquecento. The decay was the result of moving the main ambitions of the pontiffs became the develop-
the Holy See in the fourteenth century to Avignon ment and embellishment of the ancient imperial city.40

32 György E. Szőnyi
 While the popes built palaces and bridges, col- T HE P EA K AND DECL I NE OF T HE I T AL I AN

lected ancient remains and renovated historical mon- RENA I SSANCE

uments, they were also inspired by humanist ideas.

First Nicholas V (ruled 1477–1455) promoted the “new It is perplexing that Italian Renaissance culture reached
learning” when he established the Vatican Library. His its climax between 1500 and 1530, precisely the dec-
successor, Pius II (Enea Silvio Piccolomini, 1458–1464), ades in which the peninsula was ravaged by political,
was himself a noted philologist, who prior to his ec- social, and economic crisis. As Eugenio Garin sum-
clesiastical career had even tried his pen at frivolous marized: “Parallel with the flourishing of painting, ar-
works of belle lettres. chitecture, and sculpture; with the birth of ever more
Paul II (1464–1471) collected classical inscrip- sophisticated literary works and high-minded educa-
tions and medals; his successor, Sixtus IV (Francesco tional ideas, the economy of cities was shaken, crafts
della Rovere, 1471–1484) renovated thirty churches in were decaying and agriculture returned to feudalism.
the city and reopened the old Roman aqueduct pro- Civic rights became uncertain, municipal governments
viding the population with fresh water. Furthermore, declined, and the church – so it seemed – became more
he had the Sistine Chapel built, which soon became corrupt than ever.”41 Allison Brown’s reminder is simi-
the “canvas” for the genius of Michelangelo. Finally, lar: “No one familiar with the histories and chronicles
we should not fail to mention that it was Sixtus IV of Italy in the years from 1494 to 1530 can be unaware
who appointed Bernardo Platina as chief papal librar- of the sense of crisis that pervades these writings.”42
ian and provided vast sums of money to purchase It is enough to think over the cataclysms that
valuable manuscripts from all over Europe. The cer- reached Italy following the “cordial and chivalric”
emony of his appointment is depicted on Melozzo da warfare of the quattrocento. The ruthless invasion of
Forlì’s fresco in the Vatican. Charles VIII in 1494 was followed by further French
The next pope, Innocent VIII (1484–1492), was attacks in 1499 and 1515. The Spaniards assailed south-
notorious in history, despite some of his attempts to ern Italy in 1501; later, in 1519 the mercenary army of
embellish Rome. As pope, he actively supported the Charles V attacked, concluding with the Sack of Rome
Spanish Inquisition and his actions sparked the witch in 1527. The once-flourishing city-states all suffered:
craze that later in the sixteenth century led to pan- Florence vacillated for decades between the expulsion
European hysteria and mass murder. He also una- of the Medici (1494, 1527) and their restoration (1512,
shamedly practiced simony and investiture while he 1530), while also being subjected to the experience of
did his best to marry his illegal children into the lead- Savonarola’s theocratic fundamentalism.
ing families of Europe. Yet, it was with his obstinate Milan was alternatively taken by the French (1499–
and belligerent foreign policy that he harmed Italy 1512, 1515–1525) and the Spanish (1525). Naples shared
the most. a similar fate: after the French annexation (1494) the
Innocent VIII tried to settle his longstanding con- Spaniards returned in 1501 to wreak vengeance on the
flict with King Ferdinand of Naples by inviting the “unfaithful” Italians. In 1509 Venice was fatally defeated
French king Charles VIII to attack Naples and recap- and lost the greater part of her mainland dominions.
ture that throne for the Angevins. The war soon tragi- Due to the political skills and manœuvring of
cally escalated, turning Italy into a battleground for the great Renaissance popes, Rome was only once hit
decades, at the same time, it put an end to the eco- by foreign troops – the Landknechts of Charles V –
nomic and political superiority of the peninsula. Para- but their Sack of Rome in 1527 has gone down in
doxically, perhaps because of sheer inertia, Renaissance history as one of the worst assaults on the city. In this
culture continued to flourish, actually, reaching its peak, general situation it is not surprising that the last flow-
during these very decades. This is the period that cul- ering of great Renaissance art was concentrated in
tural historians refer to as the “high Renaissance”. Rome, a city which was relatively safe during the first

The World of the Italian Renaissance 33

 Raphael
Portrait of Pope Julius II
1511
National Gallery, London

three decades of the cinquecento, and was greatly de- Pinturicchio to decorate the papal apartments in the
veloped by three ambitious popes.43 Vatican with frescoes.
Alexander VI is usually described by historians In those days the popes, while remaining un-
as an abomination, and there is consensus in claim- married, did not observe sexual abstinence. Alexan-
ing that the Spanish Rodrigo Borgia (ruled: 1492– der’s son, Cesare Borgia, was famous for his cruel
1503) utterly destroyed the prestige of the papacy and and ruthless nature, however, he governed his terri-
greatly contributed to the chaos that engulfed Italy tories so efficiently that the republican Machiavelli
and even western Europe. To his credit, it should be created the image of the ideal prince after him. Alex-
noted, it was thanks to him that European Jewry ander’s successors, Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere,
could find a new homeland in Italy following expul- 1503–1513) and Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici, 1513–
sion from Spain in 1492 and from Portugal in 1497. 1521) became even greater and more fervent commis-
Alexander was also a patron of the arts and invited sioners of artworks.

34 György E. Szőnyi
Jacopo Tintoretto It seems that Renaissance art around 1500 had
Two studies after reached a new phase. This change was maturing in
the “Atlas statuette” Florence, under Medici patronage, but it peaked in the
ca. 1549 Rome of the popes. In many respects this began with
Szépművészeti Múzeum, the architect, Donato Bramante, who moved to the
Budapest Eternal City in 1502. By this time, Bramante had built
the splendid palace of Urbino for the Montefeltro,
and also decorated Lodovico Sforza’s still medieval-
looking Milan with Renaissance buildings. In Rome
Julius II commissioned him with the greatest archi-
tectural assignment in all Christian Europe: the new
Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Michelangelo arrived in Rome from Florence in
1505. Although he chose to return there soon afterwards,
he was commanded by Pope Julius to settle in the Holy
City in 1508 and create the frescoes for the Sistine Chap-
el. From this time on, apart from a few years in Florence,
the master stayed in Rome until his death in 1564. The political and immediately following eco-
Raphael of Urbino was also prodigiously tal- nomic crises inevitably touched the world of culture,
ented. After some years in Umbria, he too worked in too, starting in literature. The two greatest writers of
Florence for four years, but moved on to Rome in the early cinquecento, Machiavelli and Castiglione
1508. Julius II soon invited the still young painter to reflected on it with different mentalities and literary
be the chief decorator of the new papal apartments, devices. The secretary of Florence (1469–1527), who
including the Stanza della Segnatura. While these during his tenure dramatically experienced the fick-
rooms have grandiose Christian themes, Raphael also leness of political fortune, became the sharp-eyed
introduced humanist-inspired mythological and clas- and -penned researcher and propagator of political
sical subjects, the Parnassus and the School of Athens. realism (The Prince, 1513). In his works, one can look
Even the most cosmopolitan and restless genius without hope for the bright idealism so characteristic
of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci, spent some of his predecessors, such as Leonardo Bruni.
time in Rome. The truly important stages of his ca- Count Castiglione (1478–1529), who enjoyed the
reer unfolded in Florence and Milan, but between patronage of the Gonzaga of Mantua and the Mon-
1513 and 1516 he lived in Rome, at the court of Pope tefeltro of Urbino, counted among his friends the hu-
Leo X. In 1515 he was present at the meeting of Leo manist cardinals Bembo and Bibbiena, the painter
and the French king, Francis I: this led to his being Raphael, the writer Aretino, the cultured banker Ago-
invited to France where he remained until his death stino Chigi, even Pope Julius II. His major work, The
in 1519, enjoying the exquisite friendship of the king. Courtier (Il cortegiano, 1528) shows the exact opposite
The other capital of high Renaissance art was of Machiavelli’s ideology: just one year after the Sack
Venice. While at the time of the Renaissance flower- of Rome he glorified harmonious courtly life and the
ing of Tuscan art Venice still was artistically in the perfect Renaissance individual in such a manner that
full bloom of late Gothic splendour, by the cinque- – in view of the actual events – it can only be consid-
cento the city of the lagoon produced her own Ren- ered escapism and a will to conceal utter despair.44
aissance masters: Giorgione and Titian, whose paint- The crisis then proceeded and became evident in
ings were less monumental than that of their Roman the visual arts. The unnervingly incomplete last works
contemporaries; however, they used darker and more of Michelangelo, or the deeply enigmatic nature of
mystical colours than those of the Florentines. the late Titian demonstrate the disruption of harmony,

The World of the Italian Renaissance 35

the growth of a deepening crisis. Again in Garin’s Renaissance has to come to be envisaged as an in-
summary: “The true symbolic expression of this cul- tensely turbulent period, in which construction of
ture is the tragic greatness of Michelangelo as opposed class, race, and gender were negotiated, in which
to the morbid charm of Raphael, and the brute realism doubts and anxieties freely circulated.”48 To all this
of Machiavelli against the refined Platonism of Cas- we can add that in this newly conceived Renaissance
tiglione. In the paintings of Botticelli and in the po- world one also cannot help seeing the questions of
ems of Poliziano this culture created an ideal shelter individual, national and religious identity emerging
that was beyond time and bitter fate, a fate that could in novel, local and global perspectives.
neither be lived nor accepted without remorse.”45 We should not shy away from the clearly per-
The next generation did not even try to conceal ceivable tensions and conflicts that make the Renais-
their helplessness about Renaissance ideals and the sance a truly complex cultural period. True, during
harmonious forms recovered from antiquity. The “long­ this period, there was glamour alongside poverty, hu-
­­necked” Madonnas of Parmigianino, the twisted fig- manist optimism and schizophrenic enthusiasm, sci-
ures of Tintoretto, the ecstatic visions of El Greco in- ence and superstition, religion and scepticism, toler-
vite one into a new artistic universe, which became the ance and fanaticism, sophisticated sprezzatura and
crucible of painful uncertainties, commonly referred to brutal cruelty, noble chivalry and frivolous intrigue.
as the transition period of Mannerism, between the By removing the rigid and idealized facade of the
Renaissance and the Baroque styles.46 Renaissance, we can immediately see that this period
was not essentially different from any other cultural
epoch, let alone our own modernity, at least as far as
T HE RENA I SSANCE W ORL d v i e w human reason and passions are concerned. This is
why we can instantly feel the people of the Renais-
Not long ago, scholars characterized the Renaissance sance to be our contemporaries. At the same time,
as embodying European dreams about timeless beau- this world was still formidably different from our
ty, as a moment of serene quiet amidst quickly chang- own and we, just as Petrarch in antiquity, can recog-
ing history. Our image of the Renaissance today is nize history in the Renaissance, a history that is already
radically different. To quote John Jeffries Martin: “The irretrievably past. The Renaissance was clearly a peri-
Renaissance was, as a movement – or, perhaps better, od in European history with its specific traditions, and
a cluster of interrelated movements – the cultural ex- conventions of representation.
pression both of an expanding and increasingly com- A great many of these conventions constituted
mercially dynamic continent and of new patterns of the norms for the creation of works of art, and these
consumption and competition for prestige in the norms today are referred to as “the Renaissance style”.
courts and other centres of power (republican gov- Some of its characteristic features are harmony, sym-
ernments, guild halls, and churches) whose patron- metry, and equilibrium – features that can be per-
age elevated artists, architects, and astronomers to fectly seen in many items at this exhibition. But no
loftier, more influential perches within society than matter how much “timeless beauty” dominates these
they had held before.”47 artworks, they speak not of abstract ideas, but rather
Another modern scholar, Ewan Fernie, goes even of the people of an already distant age, nevertheless
further: “[By] now the notion of an ultimately au- real people, with their specific knowledge, beliefs, de-
thoritarian Renaissance has been thoroughly revised. sires – life itself. If the visitor to the exhibition can
Taking over from an older stress on order is an atten- discover and feel this life, magic will occur: the walls
tion to disorder, and usurping the assumption of of the exhibition hall will disappear and the Renais-
comfortable consensus is a preference for subversion sance will be reborn, and clearly be seen as relevant,
and dissidence. Consequently the twenty-first century indeed our contemporary.

36 György E. Szőnyi
 n o t e s

1. Burckhardt [1860] 1937. 19. Quoted from the anthology (1958, 1969) is still 37. Stemp 2006, 23.
2. Michelet 1855. of Peter Burke, 1964, 4. unsurpassed. 38. The contest of the sister
3. Burckhardt [1860] 1937, 1. 20. Le Roy, “The Excellence 31. Vergerio (1370–1444) is arts and arguments for
4. On Burckhardt’s notions of This Age”, from his the author of the first the supremacy of painting
on the Renaissance and De la vicissitude ou variété humanist educational work. can be seen in Leonardo’s
the historiography of the des choses en l’univers, Entitled De ingenius writings (Farago 1992).
Renaissance see Peter in Ross–McLaughlin ed. moribus et liberalibus studiis 39. The history of Ferdinand,
Burke’s introduction 1953, 91. adolescentiae, it was or as popularly known,
in Burckhardt [1860] 1990, 21. Benedetto Dei, dedicated to the son Ferrante, was written
1–15. In Hungarian see also “The Prosperity of Florence”, of Francesco Carrara, by Lorenzo Valla, one
Szőnyi 1984, 14–22. in Ross–McLaughlin ed. the despot of Padua. of the greatest Italian
5. King 2003, viii–ix. 1953, 165–67. 32. The two most famous humanists: Laurentii Valle
6. Voigt 1859; Kristeller 1955; 22. The connections between humanist schools were Gesta Ferdinandi regis
Grafton 1997 and 2002. medieval urbanization and founded by Vittorino Aragonum (see Valla [1520]
7. Garin 1952 and 1969. the rise of the Renaissance da Feltre in Mantua 1973). On Ferdinand:
8. Hauser 1951; Klaniczay is discussed in volume 4 and Guarino Guarini Pontieri 1969; on the
1977. of the Italian handbook (1429) in Ferrara. Among history of the southern
9. The new approaches series mentioned earlier: others, the Hungarian Italian Renaissance:
in Renaissance research Franceschi–Goldthwaite– Neo-Latin poet, Janus Abulafia 2004.
are clearly demonstrated Mueller ed. 2007. Further Pannonius also studied 40. On Renaissance Rome
in the following recent useful information can be in Guarino’s school see for example: Partridge
monographs and collection found in Hay–Law 1989, before going on to 1996; for contemporary
of essays: Findlen ed. 2002; 29–75; Brucker 2002; King the University of Padua. chronicles and documents
Fernie et al. ed. 2005; 2003, 22–31; Najemy 2004, The most famous private on the Renaissance popes
Martin ed. 2007. 124–204; Ferraro 2007. academy was sponsored see Infessura 1890;
10. So far five volumes have 23. King 2003, 23–24. in Florence by Lorenzo Piccolomini 1988; Platina
been published: Fontana– 24. Cohn 2007, 69–71. il Magnifico and headed [1479] 2008–[…];
Molà ed. 2005–[…]. A less Virologists and historians by the philosopher Vespasiano 1963.
grand yet also ambitious up to today heatedly Marsilio Ficino. 41. Garin 1964, 432.
project is the already debate if this plague was One should also mention 42. Brown 2004, 246–47.
mentioned collection the same as the bubonic the Poetical Academy 43. See Petersen 2004.
of essays published by Paula plague known from of Rome which flourished 44. On Machiavelli see Skinner
Findlen that approaches nineteenth-century in the second half of 1996; on Castiglione Berger
the Renaissance from a very epidemics, originating the fifteenth century (see 2000.
modern viewpoint: from Asia. Garin 1964; King 2003). 45. Garin 1964, 433.
Findlen ed. 2002. 25. The last major, medieval- 33. An innovative summary 46. On Mannerism as the
11. Petrarch to Cicero, June 16, type plague hit Marseille of the achievements expression of the crisis
1345. Epistolae familiares in 1720. See Delumeau of Renaissance painting of the Renaissance see
24,3. 1983; Huizinga 1996. is Stemp 2006. Hauser 1965 and Klaniczay
12. Petrarch, Africa, ix, 553. 26. The general history 34. New studies on the frescoes 1971. The ideological roots
13. On Petrarch’s achievements of Renaissance Florence of the Palazzo Schifanoia of artistic Mannerism were
see among others: Mazzotta and Venice can be found with further bibliographical first described by Dvorák
1993. in Brucker 1983 and Lane notes: Bertozzi 1999; 1921–1922. A further
14. Petrarch to Dionigi 1973. Brussels 1996. See also important work of
di Borgo San Sepolcro, 27. For a comprehensive survey the chapter “Warburg intellectual history:
on the day of of the development ikonográfiája” [The Praz 1975.
the mountaineering, of Italian city-states, Iconography of Warburg], 47. Martin ed. 2007, 23.
in Petrarca 1955, 830. see Martines 1979. in Szőnyi 2004, 67–69. 48. Fernie et al. ed. 2005, 1.
English reference: Kristeller 28. On the Sforza family see 35. Filarete (Antonio di Pietro
1964, 14. Lopez 2003; Cioffari 2000. Averlino, 1400–1467),
15. This passage of the 29. Letter of Salutati to Trattato di architettura;
Confessions of Augustine is the chancellor of Bologna, Leon Battista Alberti
quoted in Kristeller 1964, 16. Peregrino Zambeccari. (1404–1472),
16. Kristeller 1964, 16. Quoted by King 2003, 81. De re aedificatoria (1452).
17. Ficino, “The Golden Age 30. The most up-to-date On the architecture
in Florence”, in Ross– approach to the general of the quattrocento see
McLaughlin 1968, 79. questions of humanism can Heydenreich 1996;
18. Erasmus, “The Golden Age” be found in the article Cardini–Regoliosi ed. 2007.
(letter to Capito), by Robert Black (1998). 36. On the Renaissance
in Ross–McLaughlin ed. Eugenio Garin’s discussion patronage system see
1953, 81. of civic humanism Warnke 1993.

The World of the Italian Renaissance 37