Many wealthy and powerful patrons hire gifted artists to create and design intricate and gorgeous images that reflect the specific interests and symbols of the patron who commissioned the work. The varying nature of the patrons provides history with unique images disclosing the numerous personalities and fascinations of the respective patron.

During the peak of the High Renaissance in Italy, an aging and war bent Cardinal bribed his way to the throne to become Pope Julius II. Naming himself after Julius Caesar, Pope Julius II took action to reunite the Catholic states under the Vatican’s control and revive the power of the Roman Empire. His aspiration for Classical artwork was just as strong as his lust for war. After seeing Michelangelo’s numerous emotional and detailed sculptors created for his tomb, Pope Julius II had his tomb put on hold and commissioned the Florentine to paint the grandest project the world had ever seen. The ceiling of the exclusive Sistine Chapel needed to be repainted and Pope Julius II’s desire for outstanding art incited him to select the most gifted and brilliant artist of the era. Michelangelo’s profound and enduring frescoes across the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel symbolize Julius II ambition for spectacular artwork and his determination to fill those needs at all costs. Julius II had an infatuation with classical art work and theology. His desire to revitalize classical ideals is apparent in many of Michelangelo’s paintings where the stories of the Judeo-Christian tradition are blended with many of the pagan gods of the classical era. Michelangelo’s large muscular depictions of God and the saints are an extended metaphor to resemble the majesty and power of Pope Julius II and the Catholic Church. Julius II desire to recreate the Roman Empire perpetuated him to lead his army into battle and revive the need for glorious art work.

In Padua, Italy in the early 14th century a private patron name Enriqo Scrovegni hired an extraordinary artist referred to as Giotto to beautify the interior of his Arena Chapel. Enriqo Scrovegni wealthy banking business inherited from his father Reginaldo was denounced by the Church for the business’ multiple acts of usury. To repay God for his and his father’s sins, Enriqo hired a revolutionary painter to line the chapel with frescoes depicting events from the gospel. Many of the frescoes are showered with usurers symbolizing Enriqo’s regret for his sins. The scene representing the Inferno is completely composed of evil usurers and has a dangling corpse of Judas receiving thirty pieces of silver as an allegorical figure of envy. Another fresco dedicated to the Chapel of the Virgin portrays an usurer paying back his ill-gotten gains; this work of art is possibly a portrait of Enriqo being accepted back into the Church. The private chapel was utilized as a means of worship and repentance after being ousted out of the Catholic Church. The Arena Chapel also served as a family tomb where God and visitors could easily depict Enriqo Scrovegni’s powerful devotion and loyalty towards Jesus and the Christian faith after his death. Enriqo Scrovegni’s determination to rid his family of sin galvanized him to shell out extraordinary amounts for Giotto to decorate his private Arena Chapel with images regretting his accounts of usury and prove his faithfulness to God.

Throughout time, powerful and wealthy patrons in society have reinforced important personal distinctions and curiosities through the beautiful works of art they commissioned. Julius II’s ambitious hiring of Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and Enriqo Scrovegni’s commissioning of Giotto to paint multiple frescoes at the Arena Chapel each contain pieces of art representing their respective patron by using images that utilize symbols and specific techniques to divulge the attitude and desires of their motivated patrons.