Renaissance

Hieronymus Bosch, Death and the Miser, ca 1485-90, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Death and the Miser by Hieronymus Bosch

Death and the Miser is a masterpiece of morbid curiosity. It reflects on the tension between the pursuit of wealth and the inevitability of death,...

James W Singer 2 November 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Sleeping Venus by Giorgione and Titian

Giorgione and Titian’s Sleeping Venus is a masterpiece of the Venetian Renaissance school of painting. It explores sensual nudity through a...

James W Singer 26 October 2025

History

Joanna of Castile: Story of a Misunderstood Queen in Portraits

Joanna of Castile, also known as Joanna the Mad, was never expected to inherit the throne of Castile and Aragon in the 16th century. Due to her...

Anna Ingram 23 October 2025

Renaissance

Rebelious Princess—Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda, Princess of Éboli

“Who is this beauty with an eyepatch?” you may ask. Is she some sort of pirate queen? No, but you are not far from the truth. Ana de Mendoza de...

Joanna Kaszubowska 17 October 2025

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Peasant Wedding, 1567 Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Peasant Wedding by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (the Museum of Art History) is located in Vienna, Austria. It is the largest art gallery in the country, housing the...

Anastasia Manioudaki 12 October 2025

Quiz

QUIZ: The Italian Art Odyssey

Joanna Kaszubowska 11 October 2025

Painting

A Peek Into the Masters’ Workshops: How Artists Worked in the Italian Renaissance

The illustrious Renaissance masters and their celebrated artworks have lesser-known stories behind them. The Renaissance art world abounded in tales...

Guest Author 9 October 2025

Renaissance

Carlo Crivelli—Enigmatic Renaissance Trickster

We know very little about the life of Carlo Crivelli. The basics of life and death, and little else. We do have a collection of awe-inspiring works,...

Candy Bedworth 9 October 2025

Giorgio Vasari, St Luke Painting the Virgin WTF Art History

Best Gossips on Renaissance Artists by Giorgio Vasari

Known as the first art historian, Giorgio Vasari wrote the legendary book Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. The book...

Anna Ingram 9 October 2025

Art History 101

The Italian Renaissance: A Brief Guide

To the general public, the Italian Renaissance is the pinnacle of art history. More than 500 years on, it’s still the subject of blockbuster...

Alexandra Kiely 9 October 2025

Renaissance

The Surprising Career of Lavinia Fontana: Painter of Popes, Nudes, and Noblewomen

There weren’t many women who became successful artists in Renaissance Europe. However, there were probably more than most people think, and we try...

Alexandra Kiely 9 October 2025

Artist Stories

Too Much Love Will Kill You—The Death of Raphael

Raphael Sanzio, one of the greatest Renaissance painters, died on Good Friday in 1520. He was only 37 years old and at the peak of his artistic...

Zuzanna Stańska 7 October 2025