The 15th-century artist Giovanni Bellini, beloved for his serene style, is being fêted at the Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris. The exhibition “Giovanni Bellini: Crossed Influences” is the first French special exhibit dedicated to the father of the Venetian school. Bellini was an innovator in his use of expressive color, tones, and natural light. He was…

In 1504, the young and ambitious Spanish artist Alonso Berruguete arrived in Italy with an aspiration to become part of the elite artistic world of the High Renaissance. Undertrained in comparison, he made the risky move not knowing if, or when, he would succeed. Only two years were necessary for those questions to be answered….

MADONNA, CHILD AND ANGELS(After the painting by Cimabue. Paris: Louvre, 1260) (Alinari) By the infinite flood of evils which had laid prostrate and submerged poor Italy there had not only been ruined everything that could truly claim the name of building, but there had been blotted out (and this was of graver import) the whole…

It is an extraordinary thing that in all those arts and all those exercises wherein at any time women have thought fit to play a part in real earnest, they have always become most excellent and famous in no common way, as one might easily demonstrate by an endless number of examples. Everyone, indeed, knows…

The interview with Vincent Delieuvin below has been edited for brevity and clarity. This subject, this composition, “The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne,” is really very symbolic. Leonardo da Vinci spent nearly 20 years conceiving it. From 1500 to his death in 1519, he never stopped perfecting every detail, and transforming his ideas. For…

My earliest memories of Italy are of Venice. In such a strange and magical world, I felt like Alice in Wonderland; as a child, I chased pigeons around St. Mark’s Square, while my father painted watercolors of the scene. Later, as part of my art history studies, I traveled frequently from Salzburg, where I studied, to…

Their artworks are icons of Italy and their names are among the most well-known in the art world: Donatello, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Michelangelo. Eager viewers stop and snap photos of the instantly-recognizable paintings, sculptures, and buildings. Displayed in museums around the world, the immortal paintings invite a popular following. What remains obscured in the history books,…

In every sound of the violin there is the breathing of its trees. —Antonio Stradivari, luthier The story of the world’s greatest violins begins in the musical woods nearly 400 years ago. Standing high atop the Italian Alps, at an altitude of over 5,575 feet, the magical spruce trees grow very slowly. Having endured the…

Florence is a city of secrets. As you walk through the ancient streets, large wooden doors open, revealing monastic courtyards, previously unknown workshops, and fresco-filled entranceways. There’s always something new to discover. On a sunny spring afternoon, therefore, I shouldn’t have been surprised to stumble across a hidden courtyard filled with tropical plants and sprawling…

The pietà is a common theme throughout the history of Western art; it pertains to a work of art that depicts the Virgin Mary with her son Jesus Christ after Jesus’s death and descent from the cross. Depicting the mother’s love for her son after he endures great suffering, the word “pietà” roughly translates to…