Art and Love in Renaissance Italy

The entrance to the exhibit is painted red, presumably to represent love.  There is text on the wall says “Many artistic masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance were created to commemorate the most significant moments of private life: betrothal, marriage, and the birth of a child.”

The first room is filled with betrothal gifts from the Italian Renaissance.  The pieces are mostly bowls, cups, vases, and plates that were probably parts of various dowries.  The objects all had very elaborate and colorful patterns, showing the amount of time and effort put into the creation of the objects, although it is unclear whether the newlyweds would use these objects in everyday life or keep them on display as a symbol of status.

The other two main sections of the exhibit are titled “Childbirth/Family,” and “Love/Erotic Art.”  The childbirth exhibit has frescoes, painting, and ceramics, all celebrating healthy newborns.  The danger of childbirth to both mother and child during the Renaissance made successful births very important occasions to be celebrated.  The Love/Erotic Art exhibit is mostly Roman pieces.  “Some are unabashedly vulgar and lurid in their portrayals of licentiousness; others examine erotic subject matter with learned erudition.”

Overall, the exhibit shows that Renaissance art is not just the big names like Masaccio and Donatello.  The works showed that people lived like regular people, and were not completely consumed by religion as the big names would have you believe.  They lived and loved, celebrated and mourned, and were people just like us.