The Prince was hailed not simply as a cynical examination of political expediency, but as an expose of real life politics One of Machiavelli’s favorite models was Cesare Borgia, nobleman, politician, and cardinal The Catholic church put The Prince on its Index of Prohibited Books

Renaissance Artists Embraced the natural world and wanted to master the lessons of classical antiquity Studied nature’s operations and functions The patrons of artists included the Church, merchant princes, middle-class patrons, and urban centered guilds The artist as a hero and genius was born during this period

The Revival of the Classical Nude Donatello’s ( ) sculpture David completed in 1432 Lucca della Robbia ( ) sculpture the Cantoria (Singing Gallery) Antonio Pollaiuolo (ca ) sculpture Hercules and Antaeus Sandro Botticelli ( ) - the first Renaissance artist to paint mythologies with the seriousness reserved for religious theme

Bronze sculpture stands 5 ft. David created by Florentine sculpture Donatello This sculpture was the first freestanding, life-sized nude sculpture since Greek and Roman times David is in a contrapposto (counterpose) stance in which most of his weight is on one foot Donatello rejected the medieval view of the human body as sinful but instead embraced the body as a symbol of beauty and pleasure

Marble sculpture created by Lucca della Robbia The Cantoria (Singing Gallery) was commissioned for the Cathedral of Florence Lucca brought to life Psalm 150 of the Bible that mentions praising God with “trumpet sound,” “lute and harp,” “strings and pipe,” and “loud clashing cymbals”

This small bronze sculpture was created by Antonio Pollaiuolo The first artist to dissect human cadavers in order to study the body This bronze depicts the combat between Hercules and Antaeus An example of classical mythology used to glorify human action and how the body responds to stress

The Adoration of the Magi (c.1475) At the age of 30, Botticelli was commissioned to produce this painting for the Florentine church of Santa Maria Novella Botticelli included himself in the painting (he is standing at the end on the right hand side of the painting) Botticelli

It is believed that Botticelli painted Primavera (Spring) for the Medici family in 1478

The Birth of Venus (ca. 1482) by Sandro Botticelli Born of sea foam (according to the Greek poet Hesiod), Venus floats on a pearlescent scallop shell to the shore of the island of Cythera To her right are two wind gods locked in sensuous embrace To her left is the welcoming figure of Pomona, the ancient Roman goddess of fruit trees and fertility