19 Academies, Courts, and the Republic of Letters
End of the Renaissance:
Continuities and changes
Institutions of learning in the late Renaissance
Court appointments
Academies
humanist texts (Plato, Cicero, others)
humanist gatherings: ex: “Platonic Academy” of Florence
Political leaders
Features:
- for adults not students
- place to exchange ideas informally diverse people
- makes learning fashionable
- Vehicle for publishing ventures, large scientific experiments
- Meetings: lecture
Examples in Florence:
Accademia della Crusca (1583)
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Accademia del Disegno
Rome: Accademia degli Lincei
England, “Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge” (1660)
Christopher Wren
charter from Charles II, 1662
Activities
subgroups
Collected instruments
collection, display of curios (Musaeum)
weekly public meetings to present research
secretary to correspond with other societies
1665 Philosophical Transactions
Latin translation on the continent
17th c academies
- govt sponsorship
- Group activities
- Fairly broad membership
- Communication via letters, journals
Courts
rising importance after 1500
Ex: Galileo and Medici court: IMSS, Florence, Galileo Room (Room IV)
Learning and the arts
residences as centers of display and cultural activity
ceremony
portraiture
political themes
“Republic of Letters”
Conclusions: models for end of Renaissance
“Crisis” model
“Continuity” model
raphael