Art and Love in Renaissance Italy

Specifically designed to celebrate love and marriage during the Italian Renaissance, the “Art and Love in Renaissance Italy” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art houses objects that date from the fifteenth to mid-sixteenth century. Naturally revealing portraits, splendid golden jewelry, and portraits of family life, which are some of the groupings of the art found at the exhibition, pleasantly depict the beginnings of secular life during the Renaissance. The portraits and jewelry genuinely offer a sense of optimism during a period when love and marriage were not seen as necessities required for financial security as in medieval times; instead, during the Renaissance they were ideas to be dealt with playfully as forms of art that involved multiple attempts of wooing, the gradual falling in love, and ultimately culminating in the marriage of two individuals as can be seen from the detailed explorations of feminine and masculine features and love expressions in the portraits.

Inner Lid from a Cassone with Venus Reclining on Pillows portrays the full, curvy shape of the goddess of beauty, Venus, lying down on the ground with a nude Cupid tugging on her with a rope. The playfulness involved in the tugging of the rope suggests the solicitation of affection from the angel. All this suggests how love is a form of art because it takes time and effort to the woman over. Venus and Cupid portrays another nude pair except this time they are holding a flower wreath in between them. This may suggests that Cupid has successfully won over her love since Venus is holding her hand out to his.

Childbirth Tray depicts a room scene of nurses along with the birth of a new baby in the world. Although the Renaissance is a period of slight deviation from the strict religious life of the Dark Ages, the scene depicts a nun in the corner. This shows that religion and family are still two important ideals during this period. The bending positions of the women emphasize nurture and care and the focus on the new generation. From the medieval ages, it would have been difficult to portray such a wonderful, peaceful family scene since the people would have to worry about saving their own skins first from the widespread chaos.

The Ring With Names is made from gold and diamond. It appears to be a very expensive wedding gift from its looks. This just shows the power of the rising wealthy class in Renaissance Italy and its ability to enjoy such luxuries. For the first time, people loved freely; marraiges did not occur because it was socially accepted that everyone should eventually get married by a certain age but they happened because of the true love that exists between certain individuals. This ring may be an important piece because it suggests that people were willing to invest a lot in their weddings since a wedding is a once in a lifetime event.

Renaissance Italy was the beginning of a period of great abundance and cultural achievements where the idea of love was perceived open-mindedly. The exhibition successfully preserves the history of the various art forms during this time period.