Set against gleaming gold, Mary and Christ sit on an intricately carved throne studded with gems.
Location City: Florence
One of the oldest surviving bibles was made in England but has clear visual ties to traditions from the ancient Mediterranean.
Codex Amiatinus, the oldest complete Latin Bible
Two portraits capture the ambition and impudence of Titian's close friend and publicist.
Titian, two portraits of Pietro Aretino
What colorful stone and stark geometry! San Miniato hovers above the Arno river; Pisa Cathedral lies in its marshes.
The Romanesque churches of Tuscany: San Miniato ...
When the citizens of Florence looked up at St. Mark, they saw a mirror of their own dignity—and of ancient nobility.
Donatello, St. Mark
Romanesque, Gothic, or ancient Greek? Whether you divide this façade by styles or squares, its stones come alive.
Façade of Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Night and day, rough and polish—this chapel embodies opposition and traps the viewer in a moment of transition.
Michelangelo, Medici Chapel (New Sacristy)
With a complex, multi-figure composition, this monumental sculpture captures a moment from ancient Roman history.
Giambologna, Abduction of a Sabine Woman
Location, location, location. Meant for the cathedral, David presided over a public square—and now stands inside.
The many meanings of Michelangelo’s David
Three men arrive to bless Christ. Are they wise—or just rich? Better defer to that young painter in the crowd...
Dissecting Botticelli’s Adoration of the Magi
She fled France in disguise, but Vigée Le Brun does little to conceal her face—or her sympathy to Marie Antoinette.
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait
These gilded bronze doors are a masterpiece of clarity and illusionism. Space coheres, and figures move with ease.
Lorenzo Ghiberti, Gates of Paradise, East Doors ...
Forget mythology—Cellini makes his skill the subject. Defying skeptics, he cast this upright bronze without flaw.
Benvenuto Cellini, Perseus with the Head of ...
No wonder Ruysch treats each element of this still life like a scientific specimen—her father preserved insects.
Rachel Ruysch, Fruit and Insects
Capturing figures in thought, stonemasons understood what it meant to be human—just like the ancient Romans.
Nanni di Banco, Four Crowned Saints
This huge panel hints at the coming Renaissance, but the figures remain weightless and their features, elongated.
Cimabue, Santa Trinita Madonna and Child Enthroned
Only decades apart—but what a difference. Next to Giotto’s substantial Virgin, Cimabue’s appears flat yet elegant.
Cimabue and Giotto compared
This difficult sculpture is an exercise in contrasts: frailty and power, pure spirituality and anatomical accuracy.
Donatello, Mary Magdalene
This altarpiece lacks setting and symbols, but it’s hardly empty. Moving figures fill the space.
Jacopo Pontormo, Entombment (or Deposition from the ...
Brunelleschi’s panel may be scarier, but Ghiberti’s is more emotionally complex. In both, an angel saves the day.