REBUILDING THE RENAISSANCE PODCAST
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Rebuilding The Renaissance podcast will explore the development of the art, architecture, culture and history in Italy, from ancient Roman times through the Renaissance. Listeners will develop an understanding of Italy’s role in the development of Western civilization and an ability to appreciate and understand works of art in their historical context.
All Episodes
Episode 369 – Venice: The Accademia Gallery Part I
The Accademia Gallery in Venice, Italy, houses the world’s most important collection of Venetian Renaissance painting. This episode examines the history of the building and collection, as well as masterpieces by Paolo Veneziano, Giovanni Bellini, and Giorgione. ...
Episode 247 – Titian’s “Pietà” (Accademia Gallery, Venice)
Left unfinished at this death in 1576, Titian’s “Pietà” was intended to serve as his funerary monument. Its extreme use of loose brushstroke and unconventional color combinations led one art historian to describe the painting as an example of “chromatic alchemy.”  ...
Episode 242 – Paolo Veronese’s Church of San Sebastiano in Venice
Paolo Veronese is the third member of the great Venetian late Renaissance trio that also includes Titian and Tintoretto. The church of San Sebastiano in Venice was decorated over 15 years with paintings exclusively by Veronese and is a veritable shrine to the genius of this great painter.  ...
Episode 237 – Tintoretto’s Scuola of San Rocco (Venice)
The Scuola Grande of San Rocco in Venice, Italy, is the only active “scuola,” or confraternity, in the city. It has maintained its original appearance and magnificent decoration – nearly all of which was by Tintoretto - for the last five centuries. This podcast explores the history of the scuo...
Episode 161 – Venice: Giorgione’s “Tempest” and “La Vecchia”
Notwithstanding that his life and artistic career were cut short by plague in 1510 while the artist was in his thirties, Giorgione revolutionized European painting by his introduction of enigmatic and unconventional iconography. This episode examines two of Giorgione's most important paintings, both...
Episode 160 – Venice – Vittore Carpaccio’s “The Legend of St. Ursula”
Carpaccio's extraordinary visual narrative of the life of St. Ursula is one of the most celebrated examples of cyclical Venetian Renaissance painting. Recently restored, the nine large canvases are now on display in the Accademia Gallery of Venice and present a vivid snapshot of life in Venice at th...
Episode 158 – Venice: Giovanni Bellini’s “St. Job Altarpiece”
This episode examines the first great Venetian painting of the Renaissance. Although the Venetian school of painting appeared almost a full century after that of Florence, the extraordinary genius of Venetian painters such as Giovanni Bellini rapidly made it the major rival of central Italian Renais...
Episode 65 – Venice: The Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge
Episode Info: This episode explores the history and architecture of Venice's most important thoroughfare and its surrounding churches and palaces, as well as one of the world's most celebrated bridges - the Rialto - that has spanned the Grand Canal for nearly the last 1,000 years....
Episode 64 – Venice: Basilica of St. Mark and Doge’s Palace
Episode Info: This episode examines the history, architecture and importance of Italy's most unique church. An example of Italo-Byzantine architecture, St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy, was built primarily to house the relics of the evangelist and to serve as the private chapel of the Doge. The...
Episode 59 – Venice: La Serenissma – The History of the Republic
Episode Info: This episode explores the history of the world's most unique city and the organization of the longest lasting republic of all time. From the original refugees who settled on the islands in the ancient world, to the theft of the body of St. Mark, to the formation of a "perfect governmen...
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