Originally a marsh just outside the city’s walls, it came to be the heart of the city, a market, meeting place, and the political hub.
Botticelli
They range in number from 3 to more than a dozen, have various names and roles, but in paintings are most commonly followers of the sun chariot.
Nine very different nativities, from the apocalyptic warnings of a martyr, through the Emperor Augustus, to Maurice Denis’ nativity in a contemporary French town.
Paintings from 1263 to 1504 show how the traditional Nativity developed. Examples by Duccio, Campin, Botticelli and Fra Bartolomeo.
Paintings by Botticelli, Raphael, Velázquez, Gerard ter Borch, and Vermeer, including an unusual Madonna in which the Virgin Mary is writing the Magnificat.
With Umberto Eco as our guide, explore Parnassus, the Garden of Earthly Delights, Alcina’s island, Colchis, and the Garden of the Hesperides.
Seldom shown in lead roles, superb paintings by masters including Botticelli, Blake, Renoir, and Velázquez, and one strange myth to finish.
Most popularly painted in his lovemaking with Aphrodite, Ares developed a life of his own in painted allegories, particularly those of Rubens.
Lucretia’s rape and suicide, painted by Veronese, Artemisia Gentileschi, Rembrandt, and Kneller, and a wonderful David.
Was a primordial deity, attendant at Aphrodite’s birth, or her son by Ares/Mars? When did he get his bow and arrows? Answered in fine paintings.
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