Patrons are called rich people who unselfishly help people of art. Unlike a sponsor, a philanthropist is absolutely disinterested and does not seek profit for himself in the form of advertising.
Guy the Tsilny Patron of the Arts
The wealthy and noble Roman Gaius Cilnius Maecenas was a close friend and advisor to the first Roman emperor, Octavian Augustus. Thanks to the influence of the Maecenas, Rome entered the golden age of art and literature in Rome. The patron patronized Virgil, Horace and other outstanding poets and artists of their time.
6 centuries before the birth of Maecenas, the ancient Greek city of Samos was ruled by the cruel tyrant Polycrates, who did a lot for science and art. The dishonorable and cruel Gielon, who ruled Syracuse in the 5th century BC, patronized poets and sculptors. So, the Maecenas was not the first patron of art, but it was his name that became a household name.
Middle Ages
The family of the Florentine Medici aristocrats is famous for the traditions of patronage. Its representatives actively patronized the artists, poets and musicians of the Renaissance and contributed to the dissemination of cultural values in neighboring states.
Lucrezia Borgia, a dignified representative of her terrifying family, was widely patronized by the people of art in Salerno and was praised by famous poets and artists of her time for her beauty, subtle mind and kind heart.
In Venice, representatives of the wealthy and noble Cornaro family became the patrons of art, who built palaces and temples, ordered paintings and statues, and generously donated to artists and writers.
Russian patrons
One of the most famous Russian patrons of art was Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, who came from a merchant family, a wealthy businessman and founder of the Tretyakov Gallery. In the middle of the 19th century, Pavel Mikhailovich began to collect paintings by Russian artists with the initial goal of donating them to the city, and in 1874 he built a gallery to store them. 20 years later, the gallery with paintings was donated to Moscow, and Tretyakov was appointed her life-long trustee.
Pavel Mikhailovich was married to the cousin of another famous Russian philanthropist - Savva Ivanovich Mamontov. He invested a lot of money in the theater, generously helped artists and musicians, and was highly respected in artistic circles, among the intelligentsia, and among the merchants.
A wealthy and successful entrepreneur Savva Timofeevich Morozov, an intelligent, European-educated person with an advanced look, provided enormous assistance to the Moscow Art Theater. M. Gorky and K. S. Stanislavsky.
Of the modern patrons of the arts, one can recall M. S. Rostropovich and G. P. Vishnevskaya, who sponsored the school-lyceum them. Gorchakov; about the famous conductor Vladimir Spivakov, who founded the Moscow International House of Music and the Foundation for the Support of Young Musicians; the founder of the VimpelCom company, D. B. Zimin, who founded the Enlightener literary award, which encourages authors of popular science literature.