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Jan 1, 1500
Pieta by Michelangelo Buonarroti.
Sculpture. Italy. Created at the age of twenty-three, the Peita transforms marble into flesh, hair and fabric. Its beauty in texture and skill in the graceful arrangement of the figures is a masterful feat. -
Jan 1, 1502
Tempietto by Donato D’Angelo Bramante.
Architecture. Italy. Bramante abandoned painting to become the greatest architect of his generation. He developed the High Renaissance form of the central plan church and his Classical domed architecture became a symbol of the period. The Tempieto has wonderful balance and harmony and is sensed by the viewer as a sculptural mass. -
Jan 1, 1507
The Fall of Man by Albrecht Durer
Engraving. Germany. The detailed engraving of the fall of man is exemplary of Durer’s work and demonstrates beautiful detail and symbolism common in Northern Renaissance works. The heavy darks of the background push Adam and Eve into the foreground and out of the northern forest behind them. -
Jan 1, 1512
Sistine Chapel Ceiling by Michelangelo Buonarroti.
Painting. Italy. More than 300 figures depict the human drama in fresco 70 feet above the ground. The complicated perspective and 5,800 sq. feet of space intimidated the 35 year old sculpting master. The concept and detail makes this artwork a superhuman achievement. -
Jan 1, 1517
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
Painting. Italy. Leonardo Da Vinci worked on the Mona Lisa from 1503-1517. It ishis most famous portrait. Many theories surround this work adding to its mystery. Ther work is treasured for its beauty and great skill. -
Jan 1, 1519
Chateau de Chambord by Giuliano da Sangallo
Architecture. France. This beautiful and sprawling chateau is surrounded by a moat and is not in the traditional country style. The symmetry reflects architecture of Italy. The structure is elegant and strong. -
Jan 1, 1529
The Battle of Issus by Albrect Altdorfer
Painting. Germany. Here Alexander the Great defeats Darius of Persia in an epic battle scene. The turbulent sky displays the moon and sun swirled in brilliant blues. The masses of soldiers on horses, spears and encampment in the background display the chaos of war. -
Jan 1, 1538
Venus of Urbino by Titian (Titiano Vecelli)
Painting. Italy. Likely intended as a female nude painted for the sheer pleasure of the owner, it is one of the first nudes of its nature. Titian was an exemplary portrait painter and this particular work is praised for its compositional skill as well. -
Jan 1, 1540
Gallery of King Francis I, Fontainebleau, France by Rosso Fiorentino and Francesco Primaticcio
Paint/ Arch/ Sculp. France. The ornate combination of painting, fresco, imitation mosaic, and low and high relief stucco sculpture make this hall a spectacle that inspired the Baroque and Rococo. -
Jan 1, 1546
Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time by Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo)
Painting. Italy. Following the Mannerist tradition, the lascivious undertones of this work stray from the simple and monumental forms of the High Renaissance. Elegance through body language, a beautifully smooth surface and the strong sculptural contours have made this a favorite of the period. -
Jan 1, 1550
Immortals bearing the character for longevity from Ming Dynasty
Ceramic. China. This beautiful porcelain vase is painted in blue underglaze. It has beautiful decoration and pattern work and a lovely shape. -
Jan 1, 1564
St. Peter’s Basilica by Michelangelo Buonarroti
Architecture. Italy. Believing that architecture is one with the organic beauty of the human form, this building inspired Baroque architects with its sculptural qualities from top to bottom. Though the dome was completed by Giacomo della Porta after Michelangelo’s death the dome is considered the most impressive and beautiful in the world. -
Jan 1, 1565
Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Painting. Netherlands. The beautiful blue-green sky and frozen pond, white snow and linear rhythm of the dark trees and hunters give the viewer a sense of the vast and frozen landscape. The beauty of the composition makes this one of the most loved landscape paintings in history. -
Jan 1, 1570
Villa Rotunda (Villa Capra) by Andrea Palladio
Architecture. Italy. Symetrical on all four sides, the Villa Rotunda was built to hold social events (it’s a party house). Built perhaps with the Roman Pantheon in mind, the Villa has a beautiful and strong classical design with a central dome covered room that opens to the four identical facades. -
Jan 1, 1580
Composer Josquin de Perez
Music. France/ Belgium. Peres was the most famous composer of the Renaissance. Josquin is widely considered by music scholars to be the first master of the high Renaissance style of polyphonic vocal music that was emerging during his lifetime. -
Rape of a Sabine by Giovanni da Bologna
Sculpture. Italy. This sculpture depicts a Roman abducting a woman to be his wife from the neighboring Sabines. The spiraling axis of the figures is the first large-scale group sculpture since Classical antiquity that is composed to be seen in-the-round. The arrangement of the interlocking figures is beautifully orchestrated. -
Triumph of Venice by Paolo Veronese
Painting. Italy. This work represents one of the first pictorial glorifications of state. Veronese proves himself to be a master of illusionistic painting in this 29’ X 19’ oval production which shows Venice in its glory. -
The Burial of Count Orgaz by El Greco
Painting. Spain. An ornate and elegant scene of a burial shows the worlds of heaven and earth in a style that blends late Byzantine and late Italian Manerism. The black background works to emphasize the layering of the numerous figures and create a somber, stately, and spiritual mood. -
The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser
Poetry. A two part epic English poem published in two parts, the Faerie Queen is an allegory about virtue and is written in a in its own stanza specifically created for the work. -
Romeo and Juliette by William Shakespeare
Literature. Englend. The tragic story is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. Romeo and Juliet has been adapted numerous times for stage, film, musical, and opera. -
Doubting Thomas by (Michelangelo Merisi da) Caravaggio.
Painting. Italy. Near photorealism and beautiful light make this painting impressive by any standards. The rejection of idealization was revolutionary for its time in this humbling religious scene.
