Renaissance

Tarlati Altarpiece, Pietro Lorenzetti, circa 1320

See the Breathtaking 14th-Century Sienese Artworks That Helped Set the Italian Renaissance in Motion

This brief chapter of art history is often overlooked. Now, an exhibition in New York City makes a strong argument for the integral role played by four artists in the city of Siena

Sculpted monsters, open tombs and dramatic depictions of supernatural combatants make visiting the Sacro Bosco more akin to braving a Renaissance version of a haunted house.

Discover the Mysteries of Italy's Park of Monsters, a 16th-Century Garden Filled With Strange, Colossal Stone Creatures

The Sacro Bosco's meaning is the subject of debate, with scholars alternatively describing the sprawling complex as a memorial, an allegorical site or a tribute to ancient civilizations

Medieval women’s lives were “more vibrant than people expect,” says lead curator Eleanor Jackson, “and [visitors] will be surprised by the sheer variety of roles” that they occupied in the fields of politics, religion and the arts.

These Rare Artifacts Tell Medieval Women's Stories in Their Own Words

A new exhibition at the British Library explores the public, private and spiritual lives of such figures as Joan of Arc, Christine de Pizan and Hildegard of Bingen

A selection of the bounty from Isabella Dalla Ragione’s orchard, including apples, pears, plums, almonds, hazelnuts and grapes.

Meet the Italian 'Fruit Detective' Who Investigates Centuries-Old Paintings for Clues About Produce That Has Disappeared From the Kitchen Table

Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis

Virgin Mary, Infant Christ and the Young St. John the Baptist, studio of Sandro Botticelli, circa 1510

This Painting Was Thought to Be a Botticelli Copy. Now, Researchers Say It Was Made in His Studio

A new analysis suggests that the piece was created by several artists working in the Italian Renaissance painter's studio—and that Botticelli himself may have worked on important details

In 2022, researchers nicknamed the occupant of the lead sarcophagus "the horseman." Now, they say he's actually a 16th-century poet.

Archaeologists Say They've Solved the Mystery of a Lead Coffin Discovered Beneath Notre-Dame

New research suggests the sarcophagus' occupant, previously known only as "the horseman," is Joachim du Bellay, a French Renaissance poet who died in 1560

Knight, Death and the Devil, Albrecht Dürer, 1513

An 11-Year-Old Boy Rescued a Mysterious Artwork From the Dump. It Turned Out to Be a 500-Year-Old Renaissance Print

Experts have confirmed that the image of "Knight, Death and the Devil" is a real master engraving by the renowned German artist Albrecht Dürer

A section from Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus titled "Floral composition, views on the usefulness of glasses"

Leonardo da Vinci Studied the Science of Smell

The artist experimented with perfumes and created his own fragrances from flowers and fruit

The Three Graces, Raphael, circa 1517-18

See Rare Italian Renaissance Drawings at Buckingham Palace

An upcoming exhibition will feature 160 sketches by Italian masters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Titian

Brahe's mansion, Uraniborg, was located on an island in Sweden. His basement laboratory is represented by the bottom left room in this drawing.

Was This Renaissance Alchemist Ahead of His Time?

New research suggests that Tycho Brahe isolated tungsten nearly 200 years before the metal was identified as an element

Excavations underway in the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome

Ruins of Centuries-Old Palace That Housed Dozens of Popes Discovered in Rome

Before the papacy relocated in the 1300s, first to Avignon and then to the Vatican, pontiffs lived at the Lateran Palace

The new adaptation of The Decameron is “like a medieval ‘Love Island,’ and it descends into Lord of the Flies chaos,” says actor Tanya Reynolds.

The Real Story Behind Netflix's 'The Decameron'

Loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccio's 14th-century collection of short stories, the series follows a group of Italian nobles and servants who flee to the countryside to escape the Black Death

Titian, The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, 1508

A Twice-Looted Titian Masterpiece Once Discovered at a Bus Stop Hits the Auction Block

The painting, "The Rest on the Flight into Egypt," could sell for as much as $30 million

Pasquino is the most famous of Rome's six talking statues.

Rome's Talking Statues Have Served as Sites of Dissent for Centuries

Beginning in the Renaissance, locals affixed verses protesting various societal ills to six sculptures scattered across the Italian city

The Mona Lisa is the most popular painting at the Louvre in Paris.

Has the Mystery of the 'Mona Lisa' Background Been Solved?

Ann Pizzorusso, a geologist and art historian, says she's identified the location in the background of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting

A self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci

A New Leonardo da Vinci Biopic Is Coming to the Big Screen

The film will be an adaptation of Walter Isaacson's biography of the Renaissance painter, scientist and inventor

In A Woman Sewing With Two Children, the central character wears a light wash denim apron.

When Were Blue Jeans Invented? These Paintings Suggest the Fashion Trend Dates Back to the 1600s

Ten paintings attributed to the "Master of the Blue Jeans" depict Italian peasants wearing the storied fabric

Leonardo is best known for painting the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper.

The Louvre Is Thinking About Moving the 'Mona Lisa' to Its Own Room Underground

Officials hope to improve visitors' experience in the Paris museum's Salle des États

The 1.8- by 2.6-inch sketch by Michelangelo and an accompanying letter from his descendant, Cosimo Buonarroti

This Tiny Scribble by Michelangelo Just Sold for Over $200,000

The sketch was found attached to the back of a work by one of the Renaissance artist's associates

Reconstruction illustrating sliding cover as it opens, featuring Lorenzo Lotto's Portrait of Giovanna de' Rossi (left) and Portrait Cover With an Allegory of Chastity (right), circa 1505

Why Were So Many Renaissance Portraits Multisided?

A new exhibition at the Met is the first to examine the tradition of covered 15th- and 16th-century portraits, which were designed to be interactive and often portable

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