Good Old Person With Taste

The veneration and restoration of classical culture is one of crucial part in the movement so called as Italian Renaissance. This thesis tried to observe this trend through3groups of typical antiquarians from middle of14th century and the beginning of16th century from point view of taste. The history of classical taste from its birth to its climax is thus presented.Early humanists, with Petrarch as their representative, first advocated the idea of taking antiquity as a model and therefore gave birth to classical taste. Nobilities and local monarchs, with Medici Family as their representative, not only accepted classical taste from humanist, but also promoted it to a higher position and broader fields. Their sponsorship to humanist scholarship and collection of antiques are most important activities concerned here. It’s in the same period that artists began to achieve a more thoroughly understanding of ancient culture and ancient art. This is naturally represented in their artworks. Pope Julius II’s project of reconstructing Vatican is one of the symbols that marked the climax of classical taste which began to be commonly accepted as the supreme standard in culture and art at the beginning of16th century.The concept of’taste’is defined as a standard of evaluation judgment which relates directly to its holders social and cultural identities. It is in this way that the research on classical taste can provide a unique perspective to read Renaissance and Renaissance people.