ABSTRACT

In the relationship between artists and patrons answers are to be found to many of the perplexing problems raised by Renaissance art. Each party could offer the other a guarantee or elevation of their social position. This was not crudely or suddenly accomplished. The initial union of patron and artist brought forth a work of art, but the effects of competition between patrons or artists produced innovation. The desire of patrons to secure the services of certain artists encouraged them to bestow grace and favour; the anxiety of artists to gain the attention of a suitable patron led them to develop an art which could please and gain the notice of a wider public.