Michelangelo’s Drawings for the Sistine Chapel Visit the U.S. for the First Time

Dozens of drawings Michelangelo made while planning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel will go on view at the Muscarelle Museum of Art after a monumental feat in networking and logistics by the Williamsburg, Virginia museum ahead of the Renaissance master’s 550th anniversary. Curator Adriano Marinazzo, an architect and Michelangelo expert, has organized a show […]

Disputation of the Holy Sacrament (Raphael): Great Art Ep.7

In 1504, Raphael goes to make a name for himself in the city of Florence, already inhabited by the giants Michelangelo and Leonardo. The young artist is soon given the opportunity to work on the Pope’s Rooms in Rome, and creates a masterpiece on every wall. The “Stanza della Segnatura” is dedicated to four intellectual […]

David, Bandini Pietà and Rondanini Pietà (Michelangelo): Great Art Ep.6

The Statue of David Strength, determination, and righteous faith – the image of Michelangelo’s “David” has eclipsed all other Davids in its compelling depiction. It looms not just with power but with grace, and revival, as Professor Rosand explores. As the story goes, the very block of marble from which David was carved was a […]

Pietà (Michelangelo): Great Art Ep.5

Michelangelo was a visionary artist who thought of himself first and foremost as a sculptor. He dealt as much with spirit as matter in his art, and retold stories everyone knew in ways that forced us to see them with fresh eyes. He took the tradition of the pieta and turned it into something eloquent, […]

The School of Athens (Raphael): Great Art Ep.4

The Renaissance was the revival of the ancient world through the spirit of the modern Christian world, and no work better represents this epoch than Raphael’s “The School of Athens.” Plato and Aristotle, the giants of ancient Western philosophy, and heroes of Raphael, walk toward us, flanked by a monumental gathering of Greek philosophers in […]

Virgin of the Rocks (Leonardo Da Vinci): Great Art Ep.3

Virgin of the Rocks (Leonardo Da Vinci). The queen of heaven, the source of humanity in God, justice tempered by mercy – the Virgin Mary is no casual subject, and countless artists have tried their hand at depicting her. What makes Leonardo da Vinci’s “Virgin of the Rocks” such a notable work? How did he […]

The Last Supper (Leonardo), Great Art Ep.2

The Last Supper de Leonardo Da Vinci. It’s one of the most reproduced paintings in the world – and for good reason. There is almost nothing left of the original, yet Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” remains the most significant representation of the last supper in art history. Christ and his twelve disciples gather […]

On Renaissance, Great Art Ep.1

What makes the Renaissance great? Why are the Big Three practically considered saints, and how much did Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael really transform art? Join us as Columbia Professor David Rosand explains the poetry in the paintings of these Italian High Renaissance masters, and shows us how the stories depicted in some of […]

Pietro Perugino master of Raphael

Pietro Perugino, born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. He was born Pietro Vannucci in Città della Pieve, Umbria, the son of Cristoforo Maria Vannucci. His nickname characterizes him as […]

Raphael and His Main Works

Por centuries Raphael has been recognised as the supreme High Renaissance painter, more versatile than Michelangelo and more prolific than their older contemporary Leonardo. Though he died at 37, Raphael’s example as a paragon of classicism dominated the academic tradition of European painting until the mid-19th century. Raphael (Raffaello Santi) was born in Urbino where […]