The competition of 1401 for the contract for a set of bronze doors for Florence Baptistery is generally considered the event that kicked off the Renaissance. Firstly, because of the date of the competition, which coincides with the chronological beginnings of the Renaissance. Secondly, because of...

Towering 32 stories tall and with an interior diameter of 143’6’’, Brunelleschi’s dome is still the largest in the world. No other work defines the determination and vision of Renaissance Florentines better than this engineering marvel, which showed the world that Renaissance artists were not sim...

Often described as the most beautiful and famous doors on the planet, the Gates of Paradise took nearly a full generation for their artist, Lorenzo Ghiberti, to complete. The ten richly- decorated-gilded-bronze panels depict Old Testament subject matter like pages from a picture book. This lectur...

Although not as highly publicized as many other more famous paintings, the Holy Trinity by Masaccio might just be the most important painting in Florence, and is certainly one of the most important of all time. The reason is that it is the first painting ever, in the entire history of art, to app...

Donatello’s bronze David was the first free-standing nude statue to be made since ancient Roman times. In addition to restoring sculpture to its place alongside architecture, and not simply as ornamentation for it, Donatello also caused quite a ripple in traditional Christian iconography. The ero...

When Botticelli painted the Primavera in the 1470s, he opened up a veritable Pandora’s Box. No longer would Renaissance artists be limited to simply dressing Christian saints in togas and sandals, they could now gradually introduce the very literature, philosophy and religion of the ancient Greco...

The Birth of Venus is one of the world’s most recognized paintings. In depicting how the Roman goddess of love, Venus, came into being, Botticelli continued his depiction of mythological subject matter in painting. This lecture will examine the composition and symbolism of the painting, as well a...

Leonardo’s great masterpiece was painted in 1495 on a wall of the refectory of a Dominican convent in Milan, Italy, and is celebrated as the first work of the High Renaissance. Few people realize that Leonardo’s painting of the subject was the culmination of nearly 1000 years of iconographic trad...

The Pietà was Michelangelo’s first “number one hit”. At the ripe old age of 23 years, he had produced one of the greatest statues of all time. The innocence, sensitivity and stillness of this particular early work would, in my opinion, never be achieved again in Michelangelo’s 72-year career. Thi...

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 smile, to the painting being a self-por...

Michelangelo’s statue of the David has been described as the greatest expression of sculpture of all time. Standing 17’1’’ in height and weighing just over 5 tons, the sheer scale of the statue is breathtaking. Yet, there is much more to this sculpture than just its size. His near anatomical perf...

When Michelangelo signed the contract with Pope Julius II in 1508 to paint the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, little did he know the turmoil that awaited him. Never before had such a large-scale painting been attempted on a ceiling – and by a sculptor no less! After four and a half years of physical str...

The painter Rapahel was one of the most talented and skilled painters in history. Although best known for his intimate and sentimental images of Mary and Baby Jesus, his great mural of the School of Athens, in the former library of Pope Julius II (now known as the Stanza della Segnatura), best de...

Titian was the greatest painter from Renaissance Venice. His reputation and achievements in 16th-century Europe were rivaled only by those of Michelangelo. Venetian artists would introduce their own particular style and vision into Renaissance art, as can be seen in the Venus of Urbino. Suddenly,...