6
Classical Rebirth
PROSPERITY AND SPENDING on art, building and finery repelled some whose sensibilties were offended by such ostentation, normally eschewed in Florentine culture. Many sought refuge either in a more austere Christianity or, as in the case of the intellectual cadre stimulated by the classical, in its pre-Christian foundations.
The spiritual tonality detected in La Primavera led to the examination of the Medici circle’s consuming interest in Hermeticism and Platonism.1 Bound together in Platonic or Socratic love of their shared subject, the group reflected the communities of Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum; all shared a passion for the classical age. Love, beauty and perfection as a way to a higher truth were eagerly sought and embraced. Such inspiring thoughts co
