Secular

Patronage
By Felipe Xavier Díaz-
Ramírez

Sandro Botticelli’s La
Bella Simonetta
Adoration of
the Magi by
Sandro
Botticelli

“Sandro Botticelli had the patronage of

the Medici family, and in particular of
Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother
Giuliano, who then dominated Florence”
(Sandro Botticelli). “Botticelli painted a
portrait of Giuliano and posthumous
portraits of his grandfather Cosimo and
father Piero” (Sandro Botticelli).
“Portraits of all four Medici appear as
the Three Magi and an attendant figure
in the Adoration of the Magi from Santa
Maria Novella” (Sandro Botticelli).
Adoration of the
Magi by Sandro
Botticelli
 The Byodoin
Phoenix Hall is the
most essential
surviving monument
in Japan related to
Pure Land beliefs. It
is a temple built by
Fujiwara Yorimichi.

Byodoin
Byodoin
Phoenix Hall
Cambodia

Of all the monuments the

Khmer kings erected, Angkor
Wat is the most spectacular.
Built by Suryavarman II, it is
the largest of the many Khmer
temple complexes. Its purpose
was to associate the king with
his personal god, in this case
Vishnu. (Pg. 187)
Angkor Wat
On the Quirinal Hill overlooking the forum,
Apollodorus built the Markets of Trajan to
house both shops and administrative offices.
Apollodorus of Damascus was the engineer
who built the markets of Trajan, and
Apollodorus was the patron.

Damascus
Markets of Trajan
Equestrian Statue of
Marcus Aurelius

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is an

imperial statue that expresses the Roman emperor’s
majesty and authority.
Equestrian Statue of
Marcus Aurelius
 First
Empero
r of Qin
Terracotta Army
 Great
Stupa at
Sanchi

In the world of art and

architecture, the unifying
characteristics of this age (3rd
B.C.E.) of regional dynasties in
South Asia was the patronage
of Buddhism. One of the most
important Buddhist
monasteries, founded by
Ashoka and in use for more
than a thousand years, is at
Sanchi in central India. It
consists of many building
constructed over the centuries.
(Pg. 172)
Great Stupa at Sanchi
Hammurabi’s Law
Code

Perhaps the most renowned king in Mesopotamian

history, Hammurabi, was famous for his conquests. But
he is best known today for his law code, which prescribes
penalties for everything from adultery and murder to the
cutting down of a neighbour’s tree. (pg. 43)
Hammurabi’s Law Code
(Stele)
 The Palatine Chapel of
Charlemagne was a chapel with
a plan similar to San Vitale. The
interior of the Palatine Chapel
of Charlemagne shows the Interior of the
“floating” quality of San Vitale
was converted into massivePalatine Chapel
geometric form.
of Charlemagne
Interior of the Palatine
Chapel of Charlemagne
Jayavar
man
VII

Jayavarman VII was

Suryavarman II’s son and he
ruled over much of mainland
Southeast Asia and built more
during his reign than all the
Khmer kings preceding him
combined. His most important
temple, the Bayon, is a
complicated monument
constructed with unique
circular terraces surmounted
by towers carved with giant
faces. (Pg. 186)
Bayon
Khafr
e
statue

Sculptors created images of the

deceased to serve as abodes for the
ka should the mummies be
destroyed. Although wood, clay,
and other materials were used,
mostly for images of those not of
the royal or noble classes, the
primary material for funerary
statuary was stone. The seated
statue of Khafre is one of the series
of similar statues carved for the
pharaoh’s valley temple near the
Great Sphinx. (pg. 65)
Khafre Statue
Lam
assu

Guarding the gate to

Sargon’s palace were
colossal limestone
monsters, which the
Assyrians probably
called lamassu. These
winged, man-headed
bulls served to ward off
the king’s enemies. (pg.
46)
Lamassu
Menkaure’s
pyramid;
one of the
three
pyramids at
Gizeh.

In Egypt, pyramids were used

as burial tombs for the
Egyptian royalty. Menkaure’s
pyramid is one of the Ancient
World Wonders (together
with Khafre’s and Khufu’s
pyramids), and it testifies to
the wealth and pretensions of
the Fourth Dynasty pharaohs:
Menkaure, Khafre, and
Khufu. (Pg. 62)
Menkaure’s Pyramid
Nebuc
hadnez
zar

Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon
was a mud-brick city, but
dazzling blue-glazed bricks
faced the most important
monuments. Some of the
buildings, such as the Ishtar
Gate, with its imposing
arched opening flanked by
towers, featured glazed
bricks with molded reliefs
of animals, real and
imaginary.
Ishtar Gate
Onesimos
Onesimos was a Greek artist
who had focused on the
nude female figure. For
example, the kylix Girl
preparing to bathe. (pg. 124)
Girl preparing to
bathe
 Portrait of a
Man Holding a
Medal of
Cosimo de
Medici by
Botticelli

The portrait of a young man

holding a medal of Cosimo
de’ Medici is an example of
secular patronage because
the Medici family were
patrons of Botticelli, and
this painting was not
commissioned by religious
authorities.
Portrait of a Man Holding a
Medal of Cosimo de Medici
by Botticelli
 Queen
Napir-Asu
Statue

In the ruins of Susa,

archaeologists discovered a
life-sized bronze-and-copper
statue of Queen Napir-Asu,
wife of one of the most
powerful Elamite kings,
Untash-Napirisha. (pg. 45)
Queen
Napir-Asu
Statue
.
“Rothko was commissioned by the
Seagram and Sons Company to provide
600 square feet of paintings for the
most exclusive room in the new Four
Seasons restaurant at the Seagram
Building in New York - the most
prestigious public commission that had
ever been awarded to an abstract
expressionist painter, a tremendously
lucrative and enviable chance to take
his work to new heights of ambition”
(How Rothko's Seagram Murals Found
Their Way to London | The Guardian)
Two examples of
Rothko’s murals
 “Chivas new home stadium is
under construction and will be
Stadium tentatively named Estadio
Chivas” (Chivas New Volcano
Stadium | Stadium Design).
“This stadium will have the
form of a volcano with a cloud
on top as the idea of the design
is to integrate the stadium with
nature due to its ecological
design and closeness to a forest
area also becoming part of the
future Conventions and
Business JVC Center. Patron is
Jorge Vergara” (Chivas New
Volcano Stadium | Stadium
Design).
Estadio
Chivas
 Temple at
Thanjavur
(Rajarajeshvara
Temple)

Under the Cholas, whose

territories extended into
part of Sri Lanka and
even Java, architects
constructed temples of
unprecedented size and
grandeur in the southern
Indian tradition. The
Rajarajeshvara Temple at
Thanjavur, dedicated in
1010 to Shiva, was the
largest and tallest temple
in India at the time.
The Rajarajeshvara Temple
at Thanjavur
The outstanding preserved
example of early Sumerian
temple architecture is the
5,000-year-old White
Temple at Uruk, the home
of Gilgamesh (the patron). Uruk’s White
Usually, only the
foundations of early
Temple
Mesopotamian temples can
still be recognised, but the
White Temple is a rare
exception. (pg. 33)
Uruk’s White Temple
Vishva
natha
Temple

At the same time the Cholas were

building the Rajarajeshvara
Temple in the south, the
Chandella dynasty had architects
constructing temples in the
northern style, at Khajuraho. The
Vishvanatha Temple is one of
more than 20 large and elaborate
temples at that site. Vishvanatha
means Lord of the Unvierse, and
it is another of the many names
for Shiva. (pg. 183)
Vishvanatha Temple
Wangsh
The Wangshi Yuan was
a Chinese pleasure
i Yuangarden created under
the patronage of the
Ming Dynasty.
Wangshi Yuan
 Shang Xi was a
Xi Chinese court
painter for the
Ming dynasty.
Guan Yu Captures General
Pang De
 Yingxian

Yingxian, China is home to

world’s largest wooden building,
the Foguang Si Pagoda. “It was
built in 1056 under Liao patronage
by Daozong during the Northern
Song Dynasty” (Early Chinese
Buddhist Architecture and Its
Indian Origins). It is considered
the oldest extant Buddhist wooden
pagoda. 
Foguang Si
Pagoda
 Zhou Jichang painted Arhats
Giving Alms to Beggars in
1184 as part of a series of 100
scrolls produced for an abbot
who invited individual donors
to pay for the paintings as
offerings in the nearby
Buddhist temple. (pg. 211)

Zhou Jichang
Arhats Giving
Alms to
Beggars
Works Cited:
 "Sandro Botticelli." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica
Online. 25 May. 2010 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/75231/Sandro-
Botticelli>.

 "Chivas New Volcano Stadium | Stadium Design." Design Football.com. Web. 25

May 2010. <http://www.designfootball.com/Stadium-design/chivas-new-volcano-
stadium/>.

 Gardner, Helen, Richard G. Tansey, and Fred S. Kleiner. "The Rise of

Civilization." Gardner's Art through the Ages. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College,
1996.. Print. "How Rothko's Seagram Murals Found Their Way to London | The
Guardian." Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian |
Guardian.co.uk. Web. 26 May 2010.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2002/dec/07/artsfeatures>.

 Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. "Early Chinese Buddhist Architecture and Its Indian
Origins." Marg Magazine 50.2 (December 1998): 10-25.