What Does patron Mean
Several decades before Christ , the Roman Emperor Augustus had a counselor who was also dedicated to promoting the arts : Gaius Mecenas . This man used to protect poets and creators and sponsored their activities.
From this historical character, the common noun patron arose . This is the name of the individual who financially supports artists and writers , facilitating the development of their work .
Patronage is known as the sponsorship granted to individuals engaged in some creative or intellectual activity. The patron provides material support, although many times he also uses his influence or his power to help.
In ancient times, the patron used to offer his collaboration in a direct and disinterested way. His actions were linked to the satisfaction he experienced in favoring the creation of artistic works.
We must stop at the disinterest of the patrons, since in its purest definition they were those who supported the production of artists whose works were not oriented to the market, but to mere personal development and growth at a technical level.
Although today the idea that we have of the Church is very different, in the High Middle Ages it was almost the only institution that sponsored artists in general, exercising the role that we could equal that of the patron. This is due to the fact that it had an almost absolute monopoly on activities of an intellectual nature, and this resulted in commissions from specialists in different fields to carry out various works .
The High Middle Ages began in the 5th century and ended between the 9th and 10th, and brings together the history of the European continent and the Middle East. Already in the late Middle Ages, between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, patronage by individuals or institutions beyond the Church, became increasingly common. Among the most frequent patrons were members of aristocratic families, some social and political institutions, and certain developing authoritarian monarchies.
Currently, patronage is usually developed through institutions . A millionaire, for example, can be in charge of paying for the construction and operation of a museum dedicated to exhibiting paintings by young artists. The entity also grants scholarships and grants to painters. The tycoon, therefore, takes on the role of patron.
There are other ways of exercising the role of patron, although in a less direct or specific way, such as the creation of foundations dedicated to exposing children to different artistic and professional disciplines to help them find their vocation .
Depending on the characteristics of upbringing, not all of us discover our talents as children, but many times we need someone outside the family to guide us with their experience, and it is in these cases in which patronage with these characteristics is ideal.
The micropatronage , on the other hand, is a donation system that develops Internet . Anyone can contribute a small sum of money to make a project come true, thus acting as a patron.
Known in English as crowdfunding , crowdfunding goes beyond the artistic. It is possible to support athletes who need funds to compete or activists who want to carry out a campaign, to name two possibilities.
Although it is not common to use the term patron in this context to refer to the people who have collaborated with a certain project , technically we could say that this is their role. Usually, however, the press refers to them as "investors", since they have undoubtedly invested their money to support the creators.