Le Arti Minori di Firenze

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Spotlight on Vestigial Craftsmanship in Florence

During the second half of the Trecento, Florence was prospering economically and artistically from artisans and craftsmen grouped into Major and Minor Guilds or arts. The seven Major Guilds included judges, merchants of Calimala, bankers, silk and wool workers, physicians, and furriers. Some of the fourteen Minor Guilds were butchers, blacksmiths, shoemakers, leather workers, bakers, carpenters, locksmiths, etc. Each of the 21 guilds had their own coat of arms and played an important role in nourishing the arts and economy at the time.

Walking around Florence today one can still find local artisan studios but their nature is fleeting. With a series of illustrations I set out to revive the importance of these small businesses and hand-made crafts in general. My interest in manuscript illuminations served as a framing of these specific businesses for a reason; illuminations usually depicted only very important subjects with either divine or royal narrative. The meticulous rendering of manuscripts I tried to imitate is meant to accent the value of the hand-made. The illustrations presented are a result of my visits to some of the local artisan studios in Florence as well close study of Florentine manuscripts.