Renaissance and The Clash of Civilizations

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Renaissance and The Clash of Civilizations
* Lisa Jardine’s Worldly Goods
Lisa Jardine’s extensive discussion of the arts of the Renaissance period has evoked a certain sense of personal enlightenment upon my mind. This is because she was able to discuss almost every piece of work in a personal manner, which is as if the audience is staring directly into the images, sculptures, or architecture themselves. Nonetheless, Jardine was able to accurately represent the cultural production of works of art during those times by discussing the contexts (personal, social, and symbolic) of each piece. Generally, she stated that even the word “Renaissance” in itself, would already elicit the idea of achievement and a collection of timeless artists and other personalities. Specifically, however, Jardine discussed how materials, strokes, and even positioning (i.e., St. Wolfgang Altarpiece) relates to one another, and ultimately to the whole repertoire of pieces that originated from the Renaissance period. 
Nevertheless, just like any commodity sold in the market, Jardine noted that even artworks are subject to the laws of economics. This is the reason why she stated that most of the elegant works during that period are meant to showcase one’s power and wealth. To illustrate this, she presented a letter between a ‘purchaser’ and the ‘artist’. On the one hand, it is the purchaser or patron who orchestrates and controls how the art will be created, whereas the artist works after being paid a down payment. This simply shows how powerful individuals can exert significant control over the creativity of the artist. On the other hand, the sheer elegance and costs of the works (and at times, the theme) of art also show the wealth of the patron. For example, Filippo Lippi’s Coronation of the Virgin features a gilded frame and an ostentatious and complex desi...