Italian Art for Travelers
Your passport to culture, history, and art

Drawings let us see the artist at work, thinking through problems. Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael’s drawings are like fingerprints or handwriting. Each had unique styles and methods of drawing. Raphael frequently drew hands. Michelangelo concentrated on the muscular torso or twisting body. Leonardo brainstormed on paper, keenly interested in nature and how the world around him worked.

Three consequential sixteenth century conclaves illustrate the power wrangling and coalitions in electing a pope: the conclaves for Julius I

Michelangelo’s fame was well founded after completing two early masterpieces, the Pietà and the David. Both speak to his creative genius.

Four popes did much to shape the Rome we see today. The della Rovere, Farnese, Borghese, and the Barberini families each placed their own ma

Michelangelo and Titian, the two sixteenth century powerhouse competitive artists, decided to create their own memorial as the end of their

The Bargello Museum gave me the creeps. Why ? It could be because banker Lorenzo Tornabuoni lost his head in the courtyard. Find out where h

How did artists represent the Old Testament King David? As giant slayer? Lustful king? Composer of Psalms? Let’s look at some depictions