Flush with capital from the trading boom, wealthy businessmen hired architects to erect magnificent new buildings and artists to adorn them with bold new artworks. The most powerful of these patrons was the Medici family, wealthy bankers who ruled Florence for several generations. Because they sponsored so many new artists, Florence became the center of Renaissance art and architecture. Before this time, most of the art and architecture was commissioned by the church or state (with the state heavily influenced by the church). Therefore, the subject matter was usually religious, and could be presented only in a manner approved by the church. However, with so many newly wealthy individuals patronizing art, the subject matter became more secular and artists were now free to explore different artistic techniques. The first to make a break with medieval artistic traditions was Florence's Giotto (12761336), whose use of realism stunned the public and spawned several.....
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