Charles knelt at the altar in front of the Pope on Christmas Day 800. When he rose, he was wearing the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor. A surprise perhaps?
Raphael
Good for watercolour and pastels alone? Paper and cardboard have also been used extensively for oil sketches, and more.
Two final paintings, his striking portrait of Saint John the Baptist, and the highly controversial ‘Salvator Mundi’, the most expensive painting in the world.
Two lost paintings – a mural of the Battle of Anghiari in Florence, and a possible work showing Leda, plus his later Virgin and Child with St Anne.
With a binder of gum arabic, watercolours came into use in the Renaissance, and have steadily increased in popularity.
Two probable copies of his lost Madonna with the Yarnwinder, and the most famous painting in the world: the Mona Lisa, which introduced sfumato and advanced glazing.
His pupils, and the pupils of those artists, included Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Perugino, Ghirlandaio, and di Credi.
From 1450-1650, paintings of ‘Christian sibyls’ who foretold the birth of Christ, became important motifs for painting. Here’s a selection.
Lead White was the primary white pigment used in oil painting until the late twentieth century, and Chalk White was mainly used in the grounds under oil paint layers.
The standard blue pigment for the Renaissance and on, until about 1710, it was used in many Old Masters before disappearing by 1800.
