Artists and Movements

CARAVAGGIO: THE PAINTINGS BY MICHELANGELO MERISI  Caravaggio is famous both for his adventurous life and the anguished realism of his works. His existence was a succession of works of genius and coups de theatre, conflicts with his clients, which caused even the refusal of some of his works and violent brawls. Caravaggio in his paintings […]

MONET’S WATER LILIES: 5 THINGS TO KNOW To Monet painting the Water Lilies meant painting no longer like an Impressionist artist, but experimenting something completely new. The Water Lilies are a series of paintings painted between 1897 and 1926 by Claude Monet, who is considered the father of Impressionism, but also the artist who was […]

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI: 5 THINGS TO KNOW Painter, sculptor, architect, Michelangelo Buonarroti was one of the greatest masters of the Renaissance. His works are among the greatest masterpieces of the history of art, and are characterized by monumental bodies and twisted busts, which mark the surpassing of the idea according to which art has to imitate […]

PABLO PICASSO: 5 THINGS TO KNOW Pablo Picasso is the most important artist of the 20th century. Charismatic and irascible, he loved women but, probably more than any other thing he loved himself. If I had had the chance to meet him, I would have certainly hated him, or I would have fallen at his […]

THE LAST SUPPER BY LEONARDO DA VINCI: 5 THINGS TO KNOW The Last Supper is a work which, together with The Mona Lisa, has entered the collective consciousness, and in fact when you hear about the Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci’s work comes to your mind immediately. But what do we actually know about this […]

THE LIFE OF CARAVAGGIO: 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MICHELANGELO MERISI The life of Caravaggio, birth name Michelangelo Merisi, is as adventurous as a novel, where the marvel arisen from his works combines with the mysteries of his violent life made up of excess. “When there’s no energy, there is not colour, no shape, there is no […]

MICHELANGELO’S DAVID: WHERE IT IS AND WHO THE HERO REPRESENTED IS Michelangelo’s David is one of the early works by the great Florentine artist, who was only 26 years old when he started working on it, but he was already famous for his unique talent. The work was commissioned by the Opera di Santa Maria […]

THE STARRY NIGHT BY VAN GOGH. WHY VAN GOGH PAINTED IT, WHAT IT REPRESENTS, WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT In The Starry Night Van Gogh represents the most visionary night in history of art. Before this painting the night had never been so intense! It’s one of the most famous paintings by Van Gogh, in […]

THE VITRUVIAN MAN BY LEONARDO DA VINCI: WHY IS IT CALLED THAT? The Vitruvian Man is considered the most perfect example of symmetry, and is one of the most famous drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, the artist of Last Supper. Every time we take a 1 € coin we can admire its perfection, but what is […]

ANDREA PALLADIO: WHO HE WAS AND WHAT HE DID Andrea Palladio was born in Padua in 1508 into a family of humble origins. At the age of almost 13 he began his apprenticeship as a stone cutter in Padua, and then he attended the workshop of the most important sculptors in Vicenza, Giovanni di Giacomo […]

STILL LIFE: CARAVAGGIO AND THE BASKET OF FRUIT Still life Caravaggio. Caravaggio’s Basket of Fruit is considered to be the first Italian still-life painting, a pictorial genre which already existed and had a long tradition behind, and whose undisputed masters were the Flemish painters. In Italy the use of still life was only a decorative […]

EDOUARD MANET: THE LUNCHEON ON THE GRASS When I think of Edouard Manet, the first painting that comes to my mind is The Luncheon on the grass, the first painting which distances itself from academic painting, and which marks the beginning of the artistic career of the master of the Impressionists. In this post I’ll […]

BOTTICELLI’S VENUS: THE BIRTH OF VENUS AND BOTTICELLI’S MUSE Botticelli’s Venus. The days I spent in Florence in January were characterized by rest and relaxation, and those who followed me on Instagram could see what places I visited and what artworks I admired. The most exciting day was the day I dedicated to my visit […]

The Pietà Rondanini is Michelangelo Buonarroti’s last work, and perhaps also his most intense and moving. An unfinished masterpiece that does not showcase the artist’s technical perfection, but rather his profound spirituality, human fragility, and the urgency to leave behind an artistic and inner testament. Today, it can be admired at the Castello Sforzesco in […]

DONATO BRAMANTE: ARCHITECT AND PAINTER  Donato Bramante (1444-1514) was one of the most important architects and painters of the Renaissance, and it seems that he studied in Urbino and was a collaborator of Piero della Francesca. Little is known about Bramante’s life and his early years, but for certain he established himself on the 16th-century artistic scene by bringing back to the […]

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA Piero della Francesca, one of the greatest 15th century Italian artists, a pioneer of the Italian Renaissance who had significant influence in the development of Italian painting. Piero della Francesca spending most of his life at the most important Courts in Central and Adriatic Italy. Among the wide […]

THE NIGHT WATCH Rembrandt painted The Night Watch in 1640 on commission from the doctor Frans Banning Cocq, who also commanded a company of harquebusiers, the Kloveniers. This painting is Rembrandt’s masterpiece, and the artist was paid 1,600 guilders, and according to the documents, each person portrayed gave him 100 guilders.

WORKS BY INGRES: THE SOURCE Works by Ingres. When I visited the exhibition dedicated to Impressionism in Treviso I was impressed that the among the first paintings on shown there were some portraits by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a leading figure of Neoclassical painting, a style which would be overwhelmed by Impressionism. But it’s the first time […]

THE 16TH CENTURY: THE GREATEST MASTERS I often write about artists and artistic movements, taking for granted that everyone can associate with right historic period. But a reader left a comment on my Facebook profile which made me think. She lives in the USA e and is keen on fashion, but she shows little about […]

WORKS BY TITIAN: WHERE YOU CAN FIND AND SEE WORKS BY TITIAN IN VENICE Works by Titian. Great exhibitions often offer the chance to admire masterpieces of artists we love. Few minutes far from Treviso lies Venice, and there you may find some of the most important works of this artist.