Lakeland exhibit shows how portraits equaled power during the Renaissance

Portraits with power: Renaissance exhibit in Lakeland

A new exhibition at The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art in Lakeland showcases how portraits were a form of currency during the Renaissance. 

LAKELAND, Fla. - A new exhibition at The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art, "The Medici Dynasty: Renaissance in Florence", showcases how portraits were a form of currency during the Renaissance. 

"There's a lot of portraits because portraits meant status," AGB Interim Executive Director Daryl Ward said. "You could even go so far as to say it was an early form of propaganda."

Dig deeper:

Around 60 portraits and artifacts are on loan from the Stibbert Museum, located in Florence. This is the first time this collection is available for public viewing in the United States. 

"This exhibit is purposed to give our patrons and our guests a unique look at the Renaissance from a more historical perspective than perhaps they've had before," Ward said. "Focuses on the people who birthed the Renaissance, the Medici family."

Stibbert Museum Curator of Paintings Martina Becattini traveled to Lakeland to install the exhibition. 

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"Medici family was important not only because they promoted art, but also because they created the style of modern portrait as we know now," Becattini said. "They created the idea of the promotion of yourself by sharing your images. The portraits were fundamental to share the power of your family to the rest of the world of that time."

Naturally, many of the pieces are hundreds of years old. The portraits showcase military power, political power and even marriages designed to strengthen the Medici family. 

What they're saying:

"The thing that struck me as I went through this exhibit is the narrative power of imagery. We live in a world today on our phones and on our screens of where images just bombard us," Ward said. "Interestingly enough, when you see an exhibit like this and see all of these portraits and all these images, you almost get the feeling like not that much has changed."

Becattini added, "The lesson is the same. To make you famous, you have to share your image. Medici understood this five centuries ago."

What's next:

The exhibition will be on display until April 12. The AGB is located on the campus of Florida Southern College. 

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