An episode dating back to World War II, when an English Captain refused to bomb the village of Sansepolcro, to not destroy a painting defined as the greatest in the world.
The nativity is one of the most frequented subjects in the art history until the Baroque period: in these centuries, the well known iconography of the Christmas takes shape..
Starting from Giotto in XIV century, the landscape is an important but complementary element of the paintings. It took at least 300 years for it to become an autonomous genre...
The magnificent palaces the Farnese wanted to build in Rome, Caprarola and Piacenza during the XVI century are important pieces of the Renaissance-Mannerist art and an evidence of the family's power
The meal that Jesus had with his disciples in the night of the Passover, known as the Last Supper, is a subject that has engaged many of the greatest painters, from Giotto to Leonardo
Drawing has accompanied Michelangelo along his whole life. His sketches include the preparatory works for the paintings, but also divagations and attempts revealing a universe less quiet than he wished to appear…
Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara, and Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, were brothers in law. Between the two, a long love story made of a few meetings and a secret correspondence….
The figure of Lucrezia Borgia has been largely frequented by scholars and artists during the centuries, but her true aspect is still shrouded in mystery…
The favourite painter of the duke Alfonso d’Este assimilated and merged the elements of the great Masters of the late Renaissance in a personal style comparable to the poetry of his friend Ariosto….
Lavinia Fontana is one of the few Italian woman artists who, between XVI and XVII centuries, obtained honours and important commissions. Daughter of the mannerist painter Prospero, she developed her own calligraphic, delicate style…
In the XX century art historians have discovered a woman artist forgotten for 300 years: Artemisia Gentileschi. Daughter of painter, trained under the influence of Caravaggio, she was able to affirm her own individuality.
Let’s go through the short life of Michelangelo Merisi (known as Caravaggio) looking at his masterpieces, that have established the basis of modern painting
Caravaggio had a deep impact on the way of seeing and painting. His Bacchus and the other subjects of his early works are mysterious and innovative...
The Venus of Urbino, probably Titian’s most famous nude, was defined a “trifle too strong” by Mark Twain. However, this painting was intended as the gift of a husband to his teen bride to educate her to the virtues of the marriage…
Sofonisba Anguissola (1531 – 1625) holds a no little record: she is the only woman represented at the Prado Museum. Despite she were a celebrated artist at her days, her name has been forgotten for centuries ….
The Doni Tondo, a Holy Family painted in the early 1500s, is the only panel painting attributed to Michelangelo. It anticipates the colours and the great figures of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
The history of the Sistine Chapel in 19 documented facts: from the project of Sixtus IV to the 1980s and 1990s restoration and the led lighting in 2014.
In the XV-XVII centuries, the small Mantua was one of the most refined and cultured courts in Europe, thanks to the Gonzaga, who ruled the city according to the humanistic ideals. In 1460 Ludovico Gonzaga called at his court the emerging artist Andrea Mantegna.