Origins of Italian Guilds
• Roman collegia
• Most likely preserved in fall of Rome
• Mercanzia in 10th century – mother guild
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
Changes During the Renaissance
• Renaissance a period of decline for guilds
• Expanding power of the state
• Expanding markets (growth of aristocracy)
Arti Maggiori (Greater Guilds)
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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)
Arti Minori (Minor Guilds)
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Butchers
Shoe Makers
Tavern Keepers
Tanners
Salt and Cheese
Harness Makers
Masons
Bakers
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Blacksmiths
Carpenters
Hotel Keepers
Oil Merchants
Linen Manufacturers
Armor Makers
Locksmiths
• Members of the Greater Guilds were called
popolo grasso (fat people)
• Members of the Minor Guilds were called
popolo minuto (little people)
The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio
(angels painted by da Vinci)
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
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
One of da Vinci’s designs for an ornithopter, designed while
the maestro worked for Ludovico Sforza
Detail of God, from Michelangelo’s fresco on the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel, commissioned by Pope Julius II
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
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.
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…
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.
Continued…
•All artists spent their youth as apprentices learning the craft in
their master’s 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.
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.
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.
…Fine