4. New ideas from trade: Traders brought back more than goods from the East. These merchants travelled to China, India and Arabia and returned with ideas from these advanced civilisations. For example, they learned about mathematics from the Arabs and introduced the Arabic number system to Europe, which we still use today.
5. Competition between Italian city states: Italy was not a single country ruled by one king; it was made up of many independent city states, all in competition with each other over territory, trade, wealth and power. To show who was richest and most powerful, they all hired artists to build great buildings and produce works of art. Many of these works of art were to show their city in a very positive light. Florence was one of the most important Italian cities.
6. Patrons: A patron was a wealthy person who commissioned (hired) an artist to produce a work of art for them. There were many different types of patrons in the Renaissance. The Catholic Church (especially popes like Julius II) spent huge sums of money to beautify their churches and cathedrals. Kings and governments wanted artworks that would glorify their countries and cities. Private individuals used art to demonstrate their wealth. The de Medici of Florence were among the most important families of art patrons.
