Michelangelo, Studies for the Libyan Sibyl

This is the most magnificent drawing by Michelangelo in the United States. A male studio assistant posed for the anatomical study, which was preparatory for the Libyan Sibyl, one of the female seers frescoed on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (Vatican Palace) in 1508–12. In the fresco, the figure is clothed except for her […]

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Sketches Are Coming to America

While preparing to fresco the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, Italian artist Michelangelo created hundreds—possibly thousands—of small sketches to work out the design. He destroyed many of those preliminary drawings—which were never intended for public view—before his death in 1564. Less than 50 remain in existence today. Now, 25 of the rare sketches are coming to the […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

8 Must-See Paintings At The Uffizi Gallery

1- The Ognissanti Madonna, Giotto Any art enthusiast will appreciate the Uffizi’s varied collection. Giotto’s enormous altarpiece from 1305 is located in Room 2, between two other works of art that have become famous in this space: Santa Trinita Maestà and Duccio di Buoninsegna’s Rucellai Madonna. Along with other outstanding works created in Florence during […]

Drawing the Italian Renaissance: How artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo & Raphael worked

During the Italian Renaissance, generally held to be the period 1400 – 1600, drawing became a much more important part of an artist’s creative process. With paper becoming cheaper as a result of the book printing revolution in the 1500s, an artist could use it wastefully in a more experimental manner. Find out more about […]

The Hidden Meanings in a 16th-Century Female Nude

How a rarely-seen drawing of the Three Graces by Raphael reveals the era’s ideas about nudity, modesty, shame – and the artist’s genius. It’s part of an exhibition, Drawing the Italian Renaissance – at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace – of drawings from 1450 to 1600, the biggest of its kind ever shown in the […]

A Look Inside Michelangelo’s ‘Secret Room’

The BBC gets access to a secret room under the Medici Chapel in Florence, where Michelangelo took refuge during political upheaval. The small chamber, covered in his sketches, has opened to the public recently and offers a rare glimpse into the artist’s mind.