The Italian Renaissance Podcast

Undoubtedly one of the most important painters of the Florentine Renaissance, Masaccio broke the barriers of convention, producing the first monumental works in the Renaissance style. This episode discusses Masaccio's life and works, focusing on the famous Brancacci Chapel and his Holy Trinity in Santa Maria Novella. A close look at these works illuminates the effects of heightened naturalism...

The early 1400's in Italy saw the transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance style in painting. In major areas of patronage, be it for churches or wealthy patrons, a new style flourished that was representative of the interconnectivity between European cultures and the wider Mediterranean, one that bridges the Gothic and Renaissance styles - the International Gothic. Looking at two masterw...

While the idea of an entirely joyous rise of Renaissance culture might sound apt for a period known for mesmerizing art and literature, history tells a different story, one of war, of plague, and of death. This episode discusses just a small amount of the social issues that contributed to the rise of Renaissance culture in Italy, from the multiple plagues that continued after the Black Death, to t...

It is time to open the next chapter of our dive into Renaissance history, dialing back to look at the early Renaissance and the Proto-Renaissance. The terminology of periodization is loose and malleable, and brings to light of other renaissances that occurred throughout the Middle Ages. What is the difference between the way classical revival was exercised from the 8th and 12th centuries, and the...

I am joined by the Florence based artist and art historian Dr. Alan Pascuzzi for a thrilling interview about his career as an artist following the techniques of the Renaissance masters. We first discuss the process of becoming a sculptor and painter in the Renaissance techniques. He walks us through his technical process, looking closely at his recent allegorical bronze group for Florida State Uni...

Join me in conversation with Frank Nero, who takes us on a journey to a hidden gem in Florence, San Martino del Vescovo. This oratory serves as a fascinating case study of the intersections between Medici power and art patronage, as well as offering a glimpse into the everyday of Florentine life in the Quattrocento. The oratory frescoes depict scenes of the deeds of the buonuomini, painted by Dome...

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Frank Nero to the podcast. Nero is an art historian, award-winning educator, and former director of Florida State University Florence. He specializes in on-site lectures, having taught and inspired thousands of students during his career, myself included.  The first part of this interview departs from our typical mode of discussion, and looks at the living...

Join me in the continuation of my conversation with ecocritical art historian and climate activist Esme Garlake. In the second part of our interview, we discuss the works of Raphael's pupil, Giovanni da Udine. Giovanni not only had an intense fascination with accurately depicting the natural world, which we discuss via his drawings, but had a substantial role in decorating Agostino Chigi&apos...

Join me in conversation in two parts with Esme Garlake, an ecocritical art historian and climate activist who centers her research on the interaction between the artist and the natural world. We are talking about two artists who were trained under Raphael, Giulio Romano and Giovanni da Udine.  How do animals manifest in their works, and what does it tell us about the social history of sixteenth ce...

Welcome to the Italian Renaissance Podcast Interview Series! Passionate translator Michael Curtotti joins us on the podcast to discuss the Renaissance novelliere Matteo Bandello and his Romeo and Juliet, which serves as the inspiration to the famous play by William Shakespeare. Curtotti has recently published a new translation of Bandello's novella, a must read for all lovers of Renaissance l...

Leonardo da Vinci arrived in Milan around the year 1482. Under the patronage of Duke Ludovico Gonzaga, Leonardo painted his famous Last Supper on the wall of the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Still, his technical application of paint was a failure, causing almost immediate damage to the famous work. Between his inadequate innovation, the wars with Napoleon, and WWII, the Last Supper fresc...

Season 2 Finale! For the conclusion of this treatment of Renaissance Venice, we discuss Paolo Veronese and his famous painting that enraged the Holy Inquisition:  The Supper in the House of Levi.  Indeed, upon completion of this painting, the forces of the Counter-Reformation descended upon Veronese, bringing him under interrogation to explain what they deemed to be inappropriate in his art. This...

Touted as the 'triumvirate' of sixteenth century Venice, Titian, Jacopo Sansovino, and Pietro Aretino were cultural megaliths that bolstered the ambitious city development plan under Doge Andrea Gritti. This episode explores the presence of both Aretino and Sansovino in Venice.  Aretino was a famed writer, open homosexual, and merciless critic of the famed nobles of Italy. His court pres...

Gaspara Stampa is among the most important poets of the Renaissance. Living in Venice, she was a central figure in the music and literary scene thriving during the sixteenth century. Her Rime, published the year of her death, give us insight to the brilliant mind of an upper class socialite with a complicated love life, far flung from the rigid confines of what we might expect from a Renaissance w...

In 1494 upon the expulsion of the Medici from Florence, Michelangelo Buonarotti left his native city for the Republic of Venice. His stay there was brief and mostly undocumented. Yet, close comparison of source material and stylistic analysis reveals that perhaps Michelangelo was more influenced by his time in Venice than previously considered. The master all'antica marble sculptor Tullio Lom...

With great pleasure, I welcome Gee Cooper back to the show to discuss the afterlife of Titian. Given his proliferation and international appeal, the works of Titian and his role as court painter had a ripple effect in courts throughout Europe. Among the most important figures is Charles I of England who looked to expand the Royal Collection after a visit to Spain where he saw Titian's poesie...

Known as the greatest master of the Venetian Renaissance, Titian's painting career spanned most of the sixteenth century. This episode aims to give an overview of his life and works, focusing on three paintings from three different genres: an altarpiece, a portrait, and a  mythological scene.  Just as they represent different genres, the paintings discussed serve as timestamps in his career,...

The conquest of Constantinople placed the Ottoman Empire at the center of the Mediterranean world. Sultan Mehmed II thrived under the cultural pluralism of his new court, procuring artists from both sides of his world: Italy and Persia. However, the Italianization of the Ottoman Empire is locked within Mehmed's reign, as the greater Ottoman court did not share his appreciation for European ar...

I sat down with Julia Bender, a student and researcher of Islamic and medieval art, to discuss the relationship between the Venetian Republic and the Islamic powers that competed for mercantile control of the Mediterranean. Looking at the Mamluks and Ottomans, two major dynasties that coincide with the Renaissance period, we discuss what exchanges were being made, how Venice served as a transition...

In our third and final discussion on Giorgione, this episode covers his final work, the Sleeping Venus, which was finished by Titian upon his death. A close look at the history of this painting helps understand the development of Titian's style in light of Giorgione, which ultimately arrives at his most famous work, the Venus of Urbino. This conversation compares the two paintings, understand...

I sat down with Venetian Renaissance expert Monika Schmitter to discuss the enigmatic Tempest by Giorgione. Why is this image so difficult to define? What is the current state of scholarly interpretation of its form and function? This interview covers the complicated history of the painting, in part responding to Prof. Schmitter's recent publication on the work, available here: https://www.ac...

This episode explores Giorgione -Giorgio da Castelfranco - a founding artist of the Venetian High Renaissance. Although he lived a short life, the impact of his art echoes throughout the history of Venetian art. With influences like Giovanni Bellini, Leonardo da Vinci and Francesco Petrarch, his pictorial style is elaborated into a poetic mode of painting. This discussion focuses on Giorgione in r...

The Lombardo family workshop in Venice was the most prominent in the city for the development of Renaissance sculpture. This episode looks briefly at the history of the family before taking a more focused look at the works of Tullio Lombardo and how he revolutionized sculpture in Venice. What happens when classical revival combines with Netherlandish and Venetian design influence? Tullio worked wi...

Venice is a unique blending of cultural influences that has a lasting impact on artistic development and style. This episode focuses on the the transition from Venetian Gothic palace architecture in Venice to Renaissance style. How do we talk about the unique architecture of Venice? What historical changes impacted the shift in style from Gothic to Renaissance? How did the Venetians respond to Flo...

Jacopo Bellini is one of the most influential figures in the  development of a Renaissance style in Venice. This discussion takes a close look at Jacopo as an innovator and teacher. What influences did he pass on to his sons Gentile and Giovanni, and where did they come from? This episode looks closely at Giovanni Bellini's Saint Giobbe Altarpiece, which serves as an example of Jacopo's...