A new realism appears in the art of central Italy in the 15th century.
1400 - 1500 (Early Renaissance)
Beginner's guide
Learn about the suite of tools Italian Renaissance artists used to create an illusion of space, and a body that moves easily.
videos + essays
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Botticelli, Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo il Vecchio de’ Medici
Touch an artwork? Sandro Botticelli’s Portrait of a Man with a Medal helped viewers to think about touch and physical experience.
Carlo Crivelli, The Annunciation with Saint Emidius
What are Persian carpets, a peacock, and a cucumber doing in a painting of The Annunciation?
Do you speak Renaissance? Carlo Crivelli, Madonna and Child
What do a cucumber, a fly, figures in turbans, and ancient reliefs tell us about the Madonna and Child?
Masaccio, Holy Trinity
This painting blends deep piety with scientific observation. Both its architecture and figures were radically new.
Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi (reframed)
Brilliant golden brocades. Psuedo-Arabic. Turbans. Leopards and lions. The Adoration of the Magi speaks to the global flow of goods at this time.
Aldo Manuzio (Aldus Manutius): inventor of the modern book
Printing and publishing in fifteenth century Venice, the Silicon Valley of its day
Contrapposto explained
Don’t stand so straight! Relax. Shift your weight. Bend a knee. Just respond to the world, like this spear-bearer.
Donatello, St. Mark
When the citizens of Florence looked up at St. Mark, they saw a mirror of their own dignity—and of ancient nobility.
Alberti, Façade of Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Romanesque, Gothic, or ancient Greek? Whether you divide this façade by styles or squares, its stones come alive.
Dissecting Botticelli’s Adoration of the Magi
Three men arrive to bless Christ. Are they wise—or just rich? Better defer to that young painter in the crowd...
Illustrating a Fifteenth-Century Italian Altarpiece
When reconstructed, the panels of this altarpiece resemble the architecture of an Italian Gothic cathedral.