Renaissance Patronage Research Paper

Already a well-entrenched institution in the Middle Ages (400-1400 CE), by the Renaissance (1400-1600 CE), the European system of patronage was flourishing. Having originated in ancient Rome, patronage was a hierarchical and reciprocal relationship between wealthy, and often aristocratic, patrons and skilled clients. The more benefits a client recieved, the more preeminence was ascribed to the patron. Likewise, the more prominent a patron was, the more important their clients became. During the Renaissance (1400-1600 CE) there was an explosion of new artistic techniques and ways of thinking as artists, authors, and intellectuals attempted to emulate the newly rediscovered works of ancient Greece and Rome. There was no autonomous “art world”

Although they were often more educated, in many respects Renaissance women had fewer freedoms than their medieval counterparts. Whereas in the Middle Ages wives would have been expected to be able to conduct political and business affairs on behalf of their absent husbands, by the Renaissance they had been confined largely to seeing to household affairs, engaging in the arts, and “delicate female work,” like writing poems and embroidering. Compounding an already difficult situation, the continued existence of medieval primogeniture laws (inheritance given to the first born son) and exorbitant dowry prices, daughters were not often in line to inherit property or positions of power. Economic inflation in Renaissance Italy caused the price of dowries to skyrocket and families marrying off daughters were not only losing family members but were also losing exorbitant amounts of money. Even if they married, women’s economic contributions to their new families still didn’t mean that they necessarily had status or power, as wives could possess, but not control, property. Husbands even owned their wive’s clothing and jewelry and could take them back whenever they deemed it

Due to the drive to provide as many heirs as possible for their large fortunes, aristocratic families were having more children than ever before. The main contribution that daughters could make to their families was largely through marital alliances. In addition to uniting family groups, they also served as mediators between families and even different religious and poltical factions. Marguerite de Navarre (1492-1549), princess of France, queen of Navarre, and duchess of Alençon and Berry served as a mediator between Catholics and Protestants for many years and was greatly respected for her work. These marital alliances also had a profound impact on patronage in the Renaissance. Ladies exchanged ideas and even clients within their families. In doing so, they enhanced the international nature of court culture as aristocratic families frequently had roots throughout