Renaissance Art

January 7, 2022

Explore Rembrandt’s Famous Painting “The Night Watch” in New 717-Gigapixel Photo

Rembrandt van Rijn is perhaps the most well-known of the Dutch Masters. During the Golden Age of the Netherlands, his expressive brushwork conjured realistic scenes and expressive portraits. The Night Watch is chief among his masterpieces. The iconic painting is a 12-by-14-foot canvas illustrating 34 figures of an early modern militia. Now, this monumental work can be explored in microscopic detail through a 717-gigapixel photograph of the work.

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July 4, 2021

Exploring ‘Lady With an Ermine,’ an Oft-Forgotten Renaissance Portrait by Leonardo da Vinci

Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci produced vast amounts of work in the fields of art and science. From his numerous notebooks filled with drawings to large biblical frescoes and oil paintings, there is a lot to explore. The commissioned portrait that preceded the beguiling Mona Lisa, for instance, is often forgotten from Da Vinci's list of masterpieces.

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December 31, 2020

What Is a Reliquary? Here’s a Short Introduction To the Bejeweled Medieval Vessels

The veneration of saints was a fundamental feature of medieval Christianity. The remaining relics of these holy people took on new religious significance in the early Middle Ages. As objects of veneration and pilgrimage, the physical remains of the holy and their belongings required some of the finest works of medieval metallurgy and artistry: reliquaries. These purpose-built containers were typically constructed of precious materials and often depicted scenes from the saint's life and Biblical history.

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July 25, 2020

How the Florence Cathedral Spent Centuries Under Construction to Become a Beloved Landmark

From its scarlet red dome to its beckoning bell tower, the Santa Maria del Fiore is an architectural gem. Also known as the Florence Cathedral, it is one of the most significant—and most visited—landmarks in Italy and the fourth largest church in Europe. At first glance, the Florence Cathedral may appear to be one vast feat of architecture, but it is actually made up of a few different components.

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My Modern Met

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