Raphael Exhibition at the Met Next Year: Sublime Poetry

Dive into the artistic process of one of history’s most beloved and influential artists. A true titan of the Italian Renaissance, Raffaello di Giovanni Santi (1483–1520)—better known as Raphael—matched ambition with lyricism to create works with both intellectual heft and emotional depth, a necessary skill in the complex political landscape of Renaissance courts. In his […]

Giovanni di Paolo

Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia, one of the most important Italian painters of the 15th-century Sienese school. He is chiefly notable for carrying the brilliantly colourful vision of Sienese 14th-century paintings on into the Renaissance. His early works show the influence of previous Sienese masters, his landscapes and his figures still reverberate with echoes of […]

Giotto, Virgin and Child enthroned (Ognissanti Madonna)

A conversation with Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris in front of Giotto, Virgin and Child enthroned, surrounded by angels and saints (Ognissanti Madonna), c. 1300–05 (Uffizi, Florence)    

Giotto di Bondone the Father of the Italian Renaissance

Much of Giotto’s biography and artistic development must be deduced from the evidence of surviving works (a large portion of which cannot be attributed to him with certainty) and stories that originate for the most part from the late 14th century on. Vasari, the historian of Florence, tells the touching story of how the renowned […]

La Anunciación, Fra Angelico

Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro da Mugello), Annunciation, 1438–45, fresco, 85 x 126 inches (San Marco, Florence) A conversation with Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris    

Who Was Giotto and Why Was He So Important?

A fly that a Tuscan boy named Giotto may have painted, once, set the Italian Renaissance abuzz. It was so true to life, according to the art historical legend that trails Giotto to this day, that Cimabue, the master painter he was apprenticed to, believed it was an actual pest. “Returning to his work, he […]

Divine elegance, Simone Martini’s The Annunciation

A conversation with Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris in front of Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus, 1333, tempera on wood, gold background, 184 x 168 cm (Uffizi, Florence) Read more about Simone Martini: Simone Martini influential in Gothic style

Lavinia Fontana Masterpiece Rediscovered After 150 Years in Museum Storage

A small museum in northern France has announced the surprise discovery of a new masterpiece by Lavinia Fontana, one of the most celebrated woman painters of the Italian Renaissance. The lost work had been languishing in storage for over 150 years, long credited to a male Flemish painter, but an expert now claims it is […]

Cimabue: Grandfather of the Italian Renaissance

Often considered one of the early pioneers of the Italian Renaissance, Cimabue’s life, work, and influence continues to be misrepresented or, perhaps, misunderstood. Historically Cimabue has been overshadowed by his pupil Giotto, a narrative which was promoted by Renaissance literary stalwarts ranging from Vasari to Dante. However, Cimabue’s work is finally being viewed in a […]

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 […]