The Medici: Masters of Art and Money Art is a valuable commodity, with works fetching millions. The Medici family turned Florence into a beautiful city through their art collection. However, their relationship with art was complicated by guilt, power lust, and sexual fantasy. They changed the nature of art itself but couldn't control its consequences.
Navigating Religion and Wealth "Usury" or money lending was considered a mortal sin in Renaissance Florence. The Medici were devout Christians who feared eternal damnation due to their wealth accumulation through interest on loans. To secure salvation, they sponsored great works of art like the Strozzi Chapel fresco depicting hell's terrors as described by Dante's Inferno.