Italian Art for Travelers
The only blog devoted to Italain Art Through the Ages, and always ad free.

How did the son of a tanner and a son of a notary change the art world? Sandro Botticelli and Filippo Brunelleschi are perfect examples of artists from humble origins. It started with being born male in Florence around 1400. Their success rested on social mobility, a capitalistic economy, and freedom to choose.

Two friars became renowned early Renaissance Florentine painters. Fra Angelico was a pious friar whose faith was mirrored in his art and was later beatified. Fra Filippo Lippi, the rogue friar, fathered two children with a nun. Each was renowned for their innovation and style. Born Guido di Pietro, Fra Angelico worked as a Dominican artist in Fiesole then Florence. “Fra” means “brother,” short for Fratello in a religious order. A prolific painter, his most famous frescoes are

Are selfies an evolution of the self-portrait, or do they lack the cleverness and creativity of early modern self-images? The Italian Nation

Sandro Botticelli was a go-getter and lived in time when Florence had no lack of talent and innovators. Competition was intense for commissi

Four mysteries: one is a painting with no clear meaning, an unexplained self-portrait, Botticelli's muse, and a da Vinci painting that might