A Rare Renaissance Fresco That Could Be One of Fra Angelico’s Earliest Works Has Been Restored to Its Former Glory
Located in a secluded convent outside of Florence, the 600-year-old artwork was concealed behind layers of paint for most of its history
The Vatican’s Newly Restored Raphael Rooms Spotlight the Great Artist Who Died Before Finishing His Final Project
As specialists cleaned and studied the rooms in the Apostolic Palace, they learned new information about the Renaissance painter’s experimental techniques
Museumgoer Posing for Photo Stumbles Into Portrait of Medici Prince, Damaging the Historic Painting
The incident at the Uffizi Galleries is the latest in a series of tourist-related accidents at museums around the world. Now, the Florentine cultural institution plans to start limiting selfies
Archaeologists Are Recreating the Long-Lost Recipe for Egyptian Blue, the World’s Oldest Known Synthetic Pigment
Created 5,000 years ago, the mysterious color has been found on artworks and artifacts throughout the ancient world. But the pigment’s recipe was eventually lost to history
Meet the Mysterious Renaissance Muse Immortalized in the Only Leonardo da Vinci Painting in the Americas
Ginevra de’ Benci was a poet famed for her beauty and intellect. But art historians know little about her beyond the writings and artworks left behind by the men who admired her
Discover the Renaissance Origins and Mystical Evolution of Tarot Cards
An exhibition at London’s Warburg Institute traces tarot decks’ evolution from the 1450s through the present
Expert Rediscovers Painting by Renaissance Master Lavinia Fontana, One of the First Professional Female Artists
The artwork had been hiding in plain sight in the archives of a provincial museum in France, where it will eventually go on permanent display
Ancient Greek and Roman Statues Were Not Only Beautiful, but Also Smelled Nice, Too
New research suggests that sculptures were perfumed with sweet-smelling fragrances such as rose and beeswax
Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Sketches Are Coming to America
A new exhibition opening next month at the Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg, Virginia, explores the Italian Renaissance master’s preparations for his famous ceiling frescoes
Experts Say They’ve Found a Portrait of a Mysterious Businessman Hidden Beneath a Titian Masterpiece
When the Renaissance artist painted his famous “Ecce Homo” around 1570, he covered up a portrait of an “an unknown professional man” standing at a desk
See the Miniature Portrait of Mary Magdalene That Raphael Painted When He Was Only 20
Created around 1503, the painting—which just sold at auction for $3.1 million—depicts the saint after the crucifixion of Jesus, when she entered a period of repentance
A Five-Pound Hunk of the World’s Oldest Known Synthesized Pigment Was Found in Nero’s Palace
The discovery might illuminate the link between the blue pigment’s ancient Egyptian roots and its rediscovery by Renaissance artists centuries later
How to Use Renaissance Paintings to Improve the Farming of Tomorrow
An arboreal archaeologist roots around the Italian countryside and in centuries-old frescoes for a cornucopia of fruits long forgotten—but still viable to grow and consume
The Fool Has Appeared in Art for Centuries. What Do These Portrayals of the Complex Character Say About Us?
A new exhibition at the Louvre takes visitors on a visual journey, exploring how the figure of the fool evolved between the Middle Ages and the 19th century
See the Sprawling Secret Passageway Built for Florence’s Elite 450 Years Ago
The 2,500-foot-long Vasari Corridor impressed guests of the Medicis and other leaders that followed (including Benito Mussolini). Now, it’s reopening to the public
See How Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael Entered and Exited Each Other’s Worlds
A new exhibition in London examines the relationship between the three Italian Renaissance artists, who came together in Florence in 1504
This Peculiar Painting From the Experimental Mannerist Movement Is Back on Display After a Stunning Ten-Year Restoration
Parmigianino painted St. Jerome asleep on the ground in his 16th-century altarpiece—a choice that’s still puzzling experts five centuries later
A Rare First-Edition Copy of Machiavelli’s Notorious Political Treatise ‘The Prince’ Heads to Auction
This copy of the 16th-century text is owned by a private collector. Until recently, historians weren’t aware that it existed
See the Breathtaking 14th-Century Sienese Artworks That Helped Set the Italian Renaissance in Motion
This brief chapter of art history is often overlooked. Now, an exhibition in New York City makes a strong argument for the integral role played by four artists in the city of Siena
Discover the Mysteries of Italy’s Park of Monsters, a 16th-Century Garden Filled With Strange, Colossal Stone Creatures
The Sacro Bosco’s meaning is the subject of debate, with scholars alternatively describing the sprawling complex as a memorial, an allegorical site or a tribute to ancient civilizations
Page 1 of 9