From Botticelli and the Bonfires of the Vanities, to the extraordinary collection of artists’ portraits and self-portraits in the Uffizi Gallleries, to the use of AI in art authentication, to Botticelli’s $92M “Portrait of a Young Man with a Medal,” …
This episode examines the only painting by Michelangelo in Florence, and one of only two finished paintings executed by the artist before he decorated the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In many ways the vibrant, expressive colors and sculptural plasticity …
In 1504, Florence found its two greatest artists in the city at the same time. Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity to have them test their talents against each other, massive murals were commissioned from each in the great …
In 1504, Florence found its two greatest artists in the city at the same time. Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity to have them test their talents against each other, massive murals were commissioned from each in the great …
When Leonardo began painting the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of the wealthy cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo, in 1503, little did he know just how much employment he would generate for future art historians. From theories concerning her enigmatic …
This episode is the third and final part of a three-part podcast on the world’s most celebrated statue. From the lack of Goliath’s head, to the sling and hard-to-see stone in David’s hands, to the expressive body language of the …
This episode is the second of a three-part podcast on the world’s most celebrated statue. From the original contract drawn up in 1463 – 12 years before Michelangelo was even born! – to Michelangelo’s sculptural inheritance and eventual triumphant completion …
This episode is the first of a three-part podcast on the world’s most celebrated statue. From its original location in Piazza della Signoria, to its move in the 19th century to a newly built museum, to the centuries of erosion …
The Pietà was Michelangelo’s first “number one hit.” At the ripe old age of 23, he produced one of the greatest statues of all time. The innocence, sensitivity, and technical virtuosity of this particular early work would never be achieved again in Michelangelo’s …
Michelangelo arrived in Rome for the first time in 1496 at the age of 21. His first important patron was the fabulously wealthy Cardinal Riario who wanted the young sculptor to carve a statue of the Roman god of wine …