Renaissance

Lady with an Ermine Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci

One of the greatest masterpieces of Western art, Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci, presents Cecilia Gallerani (ca. 1473-1536). Young,...

Zuzanna Stańska 18 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Tailor by Giovanni Battista Moroni

The Tailor is one of Giovanni Battista Moroni’s most famous portraits. Not only is it an astonishing work of art, but the sitter himself is quite...

Joanna Kaszubowska 15 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Tempest by Giorgione

Giorgione and his masterpiece The Tempest form the rare combination of a mysterious artist and a mysterious painting. This small canvas has puzzled...

Anastasia Manioudaki 13 December 2023

Fresco in the Sassetti Chapel, Florence. Renaissance

Redemption of Sins: Frescoes in Florentine Family Chapels

Renowned for its artistic flourishing, Renaissance Florence saw prominent families investing their fortunes into the city’s artistic...

Nikolina Konjevod 30 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Pieter Bruegel’s Children’s Games Explained

Children’s Games is one of Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s most famous paintings. Just like in other works of his, it is debatable whether it was just...

Irina Diana Calu 20 November 2023

Renaissance

Titian’s Poesies: 7 Paintings Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses

In the 1550s and early 1560s, Titian attempted to deliver a series of seven large canvases to King Philip II of Spain. Each translated a small...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 9 November 2023

Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne, 1520-23, National Gallery, London, UK. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian

Titian’s Bacchus and Ariadne captures the vibrancy of a Greco-Roman myth through the lens of an Italian Renaissance painter. Learn about the...

James W Singer 9 October 2023

Renaissance

The Medici Dynasty. Rich Sinners or Saintly Rulers?

The Medici family was definitely one of the richest dynasties in Renaissance Italy and perhaps they were the most influential patrons of the arts in...

James Wray 2 October 2023

WTF Art History

Listen to the Butt Music on Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights

Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights is a three-part altarpiece showing the Garden of Eden on the left and a vision of hell on the right.

Zuzanna Stańska 15 September 2023

Animals

7 Images of Dürer’s Animals That Are Better Than Trip to a Zoo

Albrecht Dürer’s keen interest in nature was a typical manifestation of Renaissance curiosity. Animals were not generally considered to be...

Zuzanna Stańska 14 September 2023

Piero della Francesca Artist Stories

Piero della Francesca: Artist, Mathematician, Humanist

Piero della Francesca was not only an accomplished artist of the Early Renaissance, but also one of the greatest mathematicians of his day. His works...

Natalia Iacobelli 13 September 2023

Renaissance

All You Should Know About Albrecht Dürer’s Melencolia I

A renowned print, famously titled “Melencolia I” and crafted by Albrecht Dürer, stands as one of the most captivating works in art...

Zuzanna Stańska 13 September 2023