Guilds

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Guilds
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Origins of Italian Guilds

• Roman collegia
• Most likely preserved in fall of Rome
• Mercanzia in 10th century mother guild

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Role of the Guilds

• Monopoly economic power
• Guardians of knowledge
• Provided social structure and managerial support
  eg. wages, terms of sale, contract making etc.
• Participated in government

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Changes During the Renaissance

• Renaissance a period of decline for guilds
• Expanding power of the state
• Expanding markets (growth of aristocracy)

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Arti Maggiori (Greater Guilds)

• Arte di Calimala (Wool/Import Merchants)
• Arte della Lana (Woolworkers)
• Arte del Cambio (Bankers)
• Arte dei Giudici e Notai (Judges and Notaries)
• Arte della Seta (Silk Weavers/Goldsmiths)
• Arte dei Medici e Speziali (Physicians and
  Pharmacists)
• Arte dei Vaiai e Pellicciai (Furriers)

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Arti Minori (Minor Guilds)

• Butchers
• Shoe Makers
• Tavern Keepers
• Tanners
• Salt and Cheese
• Harness Makers
• Masons
• Bakers

• Blacksmiths
• Carpenters
• Hotel Keepers
• Oil Merchants
• Linen Manufacturers
• Armor Makers
• Locksmiths

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• Members of the Greater Guilds were called popolo
  grasso (fat people)
• Members of the Minor Guilds were called popolo
  minuto (little people)

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The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio
(angels painted by da Vinci)
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Guilds for Artists

• Medici e Speziali (Physicians and Pharmacists) -
  for painters
• Arte de Pietra e Legname (Carpenters, Stone and
  Woodworkers) - for sculptors
• Arte Della Seta (Silk Weavers) for bronze
  sculptors

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Patronage
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Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper,
commissioned by his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza
and painted in the refectory of the convent of
Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan
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One of da Vincis designs for an ornithopter,
designed while the maestro worked for Ludovico
Sforza
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Detail of God, from Michelangelos fresco on the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, commissioned by
Pope Julius II
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Orsanmichele
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• 1. Giambologna, St. Luke, marble
• 2. Verrocchio, Doubting Thomas, bronze
• 3. Ghiberti, St. John the Baptist, bronze
• 4. St. John the Evangelist
• 5. Simone di Ferruci, Virgin and Child, marble
• 6. St. James, marble
• 7. Donatello, St. Mark, marble
• 8. Nanni di Banco, St. Eligius, marble
• 9. Ghiberti, St. Stephen, bronze
• 10. Ghiberti, St. Matthew, bronze
• 11. Donatello, St. George, marble
• 12. Nanni di Banco, Quattro Coronati, marble
• 13. Nanni di Banco, St. Phillip,
• marble
• 14. Ciuffagni, St. Peter, marble

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Organization and Development of Guilds

• Each guild established rules of behavior and
  quality for their members.
• Members of guilds had full benefits of
  citizenship.
• Despite comprising only a small percent of the
  population, guilds held all the power.
• One needed to belong to a guild in order to run
  for a political office.

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Power of the Artists

• Power was not based on individual capacities
• Power was only gained when individuals were
  willing to join together and work as a
  collective.
• Only masters in the trade would generally be
  allowed to sell the product or to employ others
  to produce.
• The need to work in groups hindered the
  creativity of many authors. Keep in mind the ego
  of Brunelleschi

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Spread of knowledge and creativity

• It was required that gentlemen be involved in one
  of the seven liberal arts Grammar, logic, music,
  rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry or astronomy.
• Each guild set the terms of its craft forms of
  labor, standards of product and method of sale.
  Much cooperation was necessary.
• Guilds became increasingly rigid as time
  progressed.
• Thus, the development of the new trade and
  industry fell to the capitalists.

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Continued

• All artists spent their youth as apprentices
  learning the craft in their masters workshop.
• Artists occasionally attempted masterpieces.
• This piece had to be recognized by their guild in
  order for them to become a master artist.
• Only after this process was an artist allowed to
  open their own workshop.

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Continued

• Guilds tried to control every aspect of the
  creative process.
• Artists who may have been geniuses were
  constrained to these rules but could not have
  been successful independently.
• In fact, Brunelleschi attempted to break from his
  guild in 1434 but was subsequently thrown in
  prison.
• Brunelleschi was not the first but the countless
  attempts to break free from guilds caused a new
  era of independent artists.

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Weakness of the Guilds

• Guilds were unable to adjust to the technological
  process of their times.
• Members could not use a new method of
  manufacturing unless it was accepted by the guild
  and provided for in regulations.
• This process proved to be nearly impossible.
  Those who were the actual inventors of the
  process were forced to work outside of the
  guilds, without safety and without guaranteed
  success.

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Fine