The Renaissance Patronage
Patronage in terms of art history is the act of wealth and power for example Kings and Popes paying those of the arts such as artists, sculpters, musicians and poets for their talent.

Florence is commonly known as the birth place of renaissance art, the patrons of Italy were the Medeci family for a large part of the renaissance period. The Medeci family who were known as a wealthy banking family had a lot of power and had a large influence on the political and art world.

The patrons of Florence encouraged and invested in many of the famous artists that we look back on today such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Michelangelo Michelangelo was an Italian artist and poet known for his painting and sculpting, his most famous work is in the Sistine Chapel in Rome on both the ceiling and and the alter wall were he tells the story of genesis and the last judgement with his detailed paintings.
The Sistine Chapel Ceiling (Left) is 9 panels which are painted individually to illustrate the religious stories.
Michelangelo was considered before his time and therefore had a huge influence on the art world and the way artists paint today.

Leonardo Da Vinci 

Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the most influential artists from the Renaissance, Da Vinci was most known as a painter but was also a talented sculptor, architect, musician and inventor amongst other things.
One of Da Vinci's paintings is the 'Mona Lisa' (right) which is said to have been created between 1503- 1517. The portrait is one of the most famous paintings in the world and is most know for 'The Mona Lisa's' smile which makes people questions about what she was thinking and what is being portrayed there are some suspicions that the painting was not finished because of the intriguing smile, there has also been speculations that the painting is a portrayal of Da Vinci himself. The background of the portrait is a landscape which is said to be imaginary as the location is unknown. The 
background is a landscape consisting mainly of blue, green and brown tones, the green and blue tones are pale so that more attention is drawn to her face and the foreground of the landscape which is level with her body is brown which is lighter than the tones of her body, the foreground also has trails that lead to her shoulders therefore the colours in the painting work well on drawing attention to her face. The combination of pale and rich colours in the painting which make the Mona Lisa look almost ghost like and slightly glowing give show the photos Renaissance style.
 The Mona Lisa is Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous piece of art but his other creations such as 'Vitruvan Man' and 'The Last Supper' are regarded as treasures in the art world.