ARTé: Mecenas
Abstract
True to the life of the Medici, students must balance relationships with powerful city-states, merchant factions and the Catholic Church to build and maintain a financial empire and play a pivotal role in the creation of famous artworks, monuments and institutions of the Renaissance. By following the historical footsteps of the Medici family, students level up to the status of “Mecenas,” an influential patron of the arts, and experience the political, social and economic factors that shaped the era. The game features the most influential artworks of the 15th and 16th centuries, including more than 130 pieces of art by over 70 artists.
Description
Skills and Ideas Taught: Gameplay engages and immerses students from the Medici perspective to demonstrate the interconnectedness of art patronage,economics and political pressures surrounding the commissioning of famous artworks of Italian Renaissance.Given a variety of scenarios, learners will: • Develop interconnected networks of Renaissance economics, art patronage and production, including art markets and collecting, conventional banking, trade and alternative banking practices such as usury. • Develop strategies to evaluate the impact of art and architecture patronage on generating spiritual and religious status and social and political prestige. • Distinguish between major artistic media, forms, techniques, and theoretical and critical concepts to develop a more holistic interpretation of the Renaissance era. • Leverage historical circumstances, conditions, and events surrounding art and architecture and their commission. Goal or Challenge: Too often in art history courses, students memorize works of art without understanding their context. ARTé: Mecenas helps them grasp the complexities of the works of art, the role of art given societal norms, and the overall relevance to the people and policies of the time period. The game provides an immersive experience to help students better apply and analyze the effects of complex social, cultural, economic, political and ecclesiastical networks on artwork, monuments and institutions.Department
VisualizationCollections
Citation
Thomas, Andre; Bologan, Anatol; Carruthers, Steve; Finch, Sherman; Pedersen, Susan; Spurgeon, Janet L.; Stoenescu, Livia (2016). ARTé: Mecenas. Triseum. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /187089.