Roman Gladiator Mosaic Found
ROME – 04/29/2007 -Archaeologists have found a 2,000 year old Roman gladiator mosaic while excavating the ancient site of the magnificent Villa dei Quintili, home of the infamous Roman emperor Commodus.…
Explore the Italian Renaissance.
Discover the paintings, sculpture, and ideas of the Renaissance through the lives of its artists and the world around them.
The faces behind the masterpieces
Artists, patrons, and the people they painted. Explore the stories behind some of the Renaissance’s most familiar works.
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Reopening of Nero’s Domus Aurea Pleasure Palace in Rome
ROME (12/19/2006) – It was announced today that Nero’s pleasure palace, the Domus Aurea or Golden House, closed for over a year, will reopen next month for public visitation. The Domus…
Renaissance Humanism, Embraced Then Rejected
This article was published in January, 2007 under the following title: Renaissance Ideas: Classical Humanism, Embraced Then Rejected Feeding much of intellectual thought during the Early Renaissance was the concept of…
Reconstructed Pigments May Restore Ancient Egyptian Paintings Like Those in King Tut’s Tomb
06/27/2007 – Efforts to conserve ancient Egyptian paintings have been hit or miss until now. Art conservators, however, have finally learned the secret to effective restoration of such ancient Egyptian paintings.…
Raphael’s Fine Art Tapestry: The Miraculous Draught of Fishes
Italian Renaissance artist Raphael Sanzio designed a cartoon for his fine art tapestry of The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, then sent the design to Flemish art tapestry weaver Pieter van Edingen…
Possible Sandro Botticelli Fresco Painting Found in Hungarian Castle
06/10/2007 – A restoration project in Esztergom, Hungary has resulted in a surprise possible attribution of a fresco painting to Early Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli. While restorations have been ongoing…
Piero della Francesca
Strongly influenced by the Florentine art of Donatello and Masaccio on his travels, history records nothing for centuries of Early Italian Renaissance painter Piero della Francesco (1416-1492) until his re-discovery in…
Picasso Art Work, La Reve, Damaged by Enthusiastic Owner
Imagine owning a famous Picasso art work worth $139 million and damaging it in front of witnesses. That’s what happened to owner Steve Wynn when he put his elbow through something…
Parmigianino, Mannerist from Parma
The Italian artist known as Parmigianino was a painter and etcher who worked in the Mannerist style. Parmigianino’s real name was Girolamo Francesco Mazzola, and he was born in Parma. Early…
Paolo Uccello, Obsessed With Perspective
The Florentine painter Paolo di Dono is better known as Paolo Uccello (1397-1475), and his masterworks are his history paintings of The Battle of San Romano. These dramatic tempera renderings by…
