Bridging between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, he was a master who helped shape our whole visual culture.
renaissance
He painted a succession of fine works after his return from Venice, including superb portraits, Christ at the Column, and finally Saint Sebastian.
One of the most important works of art in Europe, it was started by Hubert van Eyck, but completed by his younger brother Jan. Here’s its story.
His time in Venice brought a succession of masterpieces, including the large San Cassiano altarpiece, a Salvator Mundi, and Virgin Annunciate which were highly influential.
Vasari claimed that he was trained by Jan van Eyck, but he probably learnt under an Italian artist in Milan before becoming the first Master in oils.
Born near Florence in 1452, the Renaissance Man and polymath died 500 years ago when retired in France. A summary of his great artistic achievements.
His pupils, and the pupils of those artists, included Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Perugino, Ghirlandaio, and di Credi.
Over 550 years ago, a 14 year-old boy started his apprenticeship with the Florentine painter and sculptor Verrocchio. He was Leonardo da Vinci, and here are some of his master’s works.
Later painting of the Black Death and plague stressed the importance of divine intervention in limiting its spread.
In 1348, the Black Death killed about half the population of Florence, then the hotbed of the early Renaissance. That is the frame story for Boccaccio’s Decameron.
