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Worldly Goods

Worldly Goods Lisa Jardine has written a very comprehensive, easy to read, book. The book, Worldly Goods, is a history of the Renaissance. The book provides interesting insights on culture, art, music, science, business, and human relations during the renaissance. Beginning by examining art as the consumer good that it was, Jardine constructs a cultural history of the Renaissance. She presents the facts in an easy to follow, well constructed The most important point the book is making is as follows: The pursuit of material goods and valuable possessions, including religious and secular art, was a defining characteristic of the Renaissance period. This is the thesis of the book. The entire book relates to how greedy and power hungry men became during the period. The title Worldly Goods, is an indication of this. Rich men of the period were in constant search of material worldly goods, such as fine paintings, sculpture, marble, rare stone, porcelain, silk from China, broadcloth from London, rich velvet, and fine carvings. These items are hardly a symbol of the deeply religious era the Renaissance is considered to be. The aristocracy had to find ways to distinguish themselves from the commoners. Having lavish palaces filled with rare and expensive art is what they came up with. “The buyer identified an artist whose work he liked; his agent sought him out and arranged the terms.” (23) This is an indication as to the trouble a rich man would go to have something considered The artist themselves, as explained by Jardine, were also wealth inspired. Preexisting ideas that the great artists of the time period were influenced by humanism are completely destroyed by the Author. Jardine explains how the artists played important roles in the game of supply and demand. The great minds took everything they possibly could from the buyers. The author speaks of a man named Urban. Urban wanted to build and sell a huge gun to the Emperor of the Greek Byzantines. When the Emperor would not pay for the gun, Urban went to his rival, the Ottoman Sultan, and sold it to him. Urban was not concerned with making a gun that would help any particular political arena, he just wanted to make some money. It is very important to understand the artists motives. If a church commissioned an artist to paint a mural, the painting would obviously be based on religion. The same artist could be convinced to paint portraits of rich people, if the price was right. This explains why “details of commodities resemble that which we identify in the sacred works” (13) are found in portraits, and not only in religious paintings. The artists did not change styles, The time the artists spent on a piece would be included in the artist’s price. However, the artists often had to pay for the materials himself. Expensive paints were used to signify the importance of certain objects in the paintings. Therefore, the richer the man or church, the better quality of paint used. The more expensive paints were often supplied by the buyer to insure that they received the finest of quality. Books were another important part of the era. The printing trade was in it’s infancy during the Renaissance. Scholarly books of Greek philosophy were made available to the public. However, these books were extremely expensive, and out of reach for most teachers and students. The fact that the books were made too expensive by the publisher, namely Aldus Manutius, is a representation of the hunger for money. If he was printing books to enhance the quality of intellectual life, then the price would not be too expensive for the scholars. The fact is; he was printing books to make a profit. The sales of those books was bad for several years until a little competition came along, reducing Books were a symbol of wealth during the Renaissance, especially rare ones. Printed books began to appear in the libraries of the wealthy in the1740’s. “Complaints in the second half of the fifteenth century from book-purchasers that dealers were passing off mass-produced (that is, printed) copies as if they had been handwritten....”(137). This is evidence to the fact that handwritten books were more valuable. The publishers made the printed books look as much like hand written as possible. This is a clue into the mind of the publishers, and their schemes to make money from the aristocracy. Jardine has a lot to say about the importance of the Ottoman empire in the Renaissance. She discusses how Suleiman the Magnificent was just as important a leader of culture as was Henry VIII or King Francis I. Suleiman patronized the arts, architecture, and scholarship, as well as amassed collections of manuscripts. The city of Constantinople was a dominating route from the Black Sea into the eastern Mediterranean. This was a very important area to trade. Jardine’s point is: that if it is important to the trade then it is important to culture. Constantinople was very important in the spread of culture throughout the Renaissance. It was a city of much diversity and cultural influence. “It functioned as a kind of valve through which goods flowed from the Oriental markets in the East and European markets in the West”(37). It is my opinion that Jardine was successful in defending her thesis with this book. The facts are all directed at her point, and nothing she said seemed to be out of line. The very concise details of Renaissance life that she presents leads the reader to understand the importance of power, money, and material goods in the motivations of the “Renaissance The biases of the book are not easy to identify. Jardine is not concerned with the rediscovery of classical literature as an influence on Western European culture. She is not concerned with the fact that painters of the era are valued for the aesthetic delight their work stills gives today. She has not written a typical book about the Renaissance era. Her biases would lie more in her trying to find ways to link everything to money and power. The facts that are presented are not wrong or untrue, she just makes them work for her point. The biases are not openly apparent like one would usually find in a non-fiction book. Jardine has managed to hide her biases pretty well. A more informed reader may find a few mistakes in her information. According to the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia, “Jardine attributed Francesco Guicciardo instead of Baldassare Castiglione with writing The Book of the Courtier. This minor mistake did not keep her from making the point. I found the book surprisingly easy to read. The information was given in a very concise and informative manner. Very few scholarly words appear in the text. The book seems to be aimed at general audiences, rather than scholars. The language of the book helped me to find the book enjoyable. However, this is not a book I would recommend to just anyone. I feel that readers with a true interests in art, power, the Renaissance, or history would find the book enjoyable. It was not my favorite non-fiction book, but I did I gained incredible insights into the motivations of the Renaissance period by reading this book. I learned a great deal about the duality of man, and his need for acceptance and humanitarian motives. I learned that the artists and admirers of art in the period were not only concerned with the beauty of art, but also the monetary value of it, which is something that continues into today’s society. Bibliography: Lisa Jardine has written a very comprehensive, easy to read, book. The book, Worldly Goods, is a history of the Renaissance. The book provides interesting insights on culture, art, music, science, business, and human relations during the renaissance. Beginning by examining art as the consumer good that it was, Jardine constructs a cultural history of the Renaissance. She presents the facts in an easy to follow, well constructed way. The most important point the book is making is as follows: The pursuit of material goods and valuable possessions, including religious and secular art, was a defining characteristic of the Renaissance period. This is the thesis of the book. The entire book relates to how greedy and power hungry men became during the period. The title Worldly Goods, is an indication of this. Rich men of the period were in constant search of material worldly goods, such as fine paintings, sculpture, marble, rare stone, porcelain, silk from China, broadcloth from London, rich velvet, and fine carvings. These items are hardly a symbol of the deeply religious era the Renaissance is considered to be. The aristocracy had to find ways to distinguish themselves from the commoners. Having lavish palaces filled with rare and expensive art is what they came up with. “The buyer identified an artist whose work he liked; his agent sought him out and arranged the terms.” (23) This is an indication as to the trouble a rich man would go to have something considered valuable. The artist themselves, as explained by Jardine, were also wealth inspired. Preexisting ideas that the great artists of the time period were influenced by humanism are completely destroyed by the Author. Jardine explains how the artists played important roles in the game of supply and demand. The great minds took everything they possibly could from the buyers. The author speaks of a man named Urban. Urban wanted to build and sell a huge gun to the Emperor of the Greek Byzantines. When the Emperor would not pay for the gun, Urban went to his rival, the Ottoman Sultan, and sold it to him. Urban was not concerned with making a gun that would help any particular political arena, he just wanted to make some money. It is very important to understand the artists motives. If a church commissioned an artist to paint a mural, the painting would obviously be based on religion. The same artist could be convinced to paint portraits of rich people, if the price was right. This explains why “details of commodities resemble that which we identify in the sacred works” (13) are found in portraits, and not only in religious paintings. The artists did not change styles, only formats. The time the artists spent on a piece would be included in the artist’s price. However, the artists often had to pay for the materials himself. Expensive paints were used to signify the importance of certain objects in the paintings. Therefore, the richer the man or church, the better quality of paint used. The more expensive paints were often supplied by the buyer to insure that they received the finest of quality. Books were another important part of the era. The printing trade was in it’s infancy during the Renaissance. Scholarly books of Greek philosophy were made available to the public. However, these books were extremely expensive, and out of reach for most teachers and students. The fact that the books were made too expensive by the publisher, namely Aldus Manutius, is a representation of the hunger for money. If he was printing books to enhance the quality of intellectual life, then the price would not be too expensive for the scholars. The fact is; he was printing books to make a profit. The sales of those books was bad for several years until a little competition came along, reducing prices. Books were a symbol of wealth during the Renaissance, especially rare ones. Printed books began to appear in the libraries of the wealthy in the1740’s. “Complaints in the second half of the fifteenth century from book-purchasers that dealers were passing off mass-produced (that is, printed) copies as if they had been handwritten....”(137). This is evidence to the fact that handwritten books were more valuable. The publishers made the printed books look as much like hand written as possible. This is a clue into the mind of the publishers, and their schemes to make money from the aristocracy. Jardine has a lot to say about the importance of the Ottoman empire in the Renaissance. She discusses how Suleiman the Magnificent was just as important a leader of culture as was Henry VIII or King Francis I. Suleiman patronized the arts, architecture, and scholarship, as well as amassed collections of manuscripts. The city of Constantinople was a dominating route from the Black Sea into the eastern Mediterranean. This was a very important area to trade. Jardine’s point is: that if it is important to the trade then it is important to culture. Constantinople was very important in the spread of culture throughout the Renaissance. It was a city of much diversity and cultural influence. “It functioned as a kind of valve through which goods flowed from the Oriental markets in the East and European markets in the West”(37). It is my opinion that Jardine was successful in defending her thesis with this book. The facts are all directed at her point, and nothing she said seemed to be out of line. The very concise details of Renaissance life that she presents leads the reader to understand the importance of power, money, and material goods in the motivations of the “Renaissance man.” The biases of the book are not easy to identify. Jardine is not concerned with the rediscovery of classical literature as an influence on Western European culture. She is not concerned with the fact that painters of the era are valued for the aesthetic delight their work stills gives today. She has not written a typical book about the Renaissance era. Her biases would lie more in her trying to find ways to link everything to money and power. The facts that are presented are not wrong or untrue, she just makes them work for her point. The biases are not openly apparent like one would usually find in a non-fiction book. Jardine has managed to hide her biases pretty well. A more informed reader may find a few mistakes in her information. According to the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia, “Jardine attributed Francesco Guicciardo instead of Baldassare Castiglione with writing The Book of the Courtier. This minor mistake did not keep her from making the point. I found the book surprisingly easy to read. The information was given in a very concise and informative manner. Very few scholarly words appear in the text. The book seems to be aimed at general audiences, rather than scholars. The language of the book helped me to find the book enjoyable. However, this is not a book I would recommend to just anyone. I feel that readers with a true interests in art, power, the Renaissance, or history would find the book enjoyable. It was not my favorite non-fiction book, but I did like reading it. I gained incredible insights into the motivations of the Renaissance period by reading this book. I learned a great deal about the duality of man, and his need for acceptance and humanitarian motives. I learned that the artists and admirers of art in the period were not only concerned with the beauty of art, but also the monetary value of it, which is something that continues into today’s society. Worldly Goods By: Lisa Jardine Josh Humphries World Civilizations Jardine, Lisa Worldly Goods. Doubleday Dell Publishing Group New York, NY 1996. 470 pgs.

Word Count: 1285

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