Agnolo Bronzino's "Portrait of Ludovico Capponi"

Nationality: Italian

Born-Died: 1503-1572

Creation Date: 1551

Size: I'll post this information later

Media: Oil on panel

Location: The Frick Collection, New York City, New York, USA

Giovanni Boldini's "Count Robert de Montesquiou"

Nationality: Italian
Born-Died: 1842-1931
Creation Date: 1897
Size: 45.5 × 32.5 inch (115.5 x 82.5 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's "Bust of Louis XIV"

Nationality: Italian
Born-Died: 1598-1680

Creation Date: 1665

Size: 9.875 x 5.625 inch (25.08 x 14.2875cm)
Media: Marble
Location: The Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France

Photo by me.

(Possibly) Arnolfo di Cambio's "St. Peter"

Nationality: Italian
Born-Died: 1240/c. 1300-1310

Media: Stone

Location: St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome, Italy

This is a detail photograph that I took of a sculpture in St. Peters in Rome.  In my various travels I have seen a lot of sculptures with noses, feet, etc. that have been polished smooth by the countless touches of human hands, but this sculpture is the most worn away I have ever seen.  It looks like the feet have melted--like they have actually lost material.  It's a shame that the work has been damaged in this way, but it's also quite amazing to think of stone being polished and literally eroded away by millions upon millions of soft, human hands over the course of centuries. 

Raphael's "Self Portrait with a Friend"

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1518-1519

Creation Date: 1518-1519
Size: 39 × 33 in. (99 × 83 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Louvre, Paris, France

Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello

I was chatting with a friend about which of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' namesake was the best artist--I found it challenging to say. Which do you like best? Which do you like least? With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to show my favorite piece by each of these artists (in no particular order.)

Raphael's La Fornarina

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1483-1520

Creation Date: 1518-1519
Size: 33 in × 24 in. (85× 60 cm)
Media: Oil on panel
Location: Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy

(This picture doesn't do this painting justice)



Michelangelo's Lybian Sybil

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1475-1564

Creation Date: 1508–1512
Media: Frescoe
Location: Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome, Italy



Donatello's St. Mark

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1386-1466

Creation Date: 1411–1413
Size: 93 in. (236 cm)
Media: Marble
Location: Orsanmichele, Florence, Italy



Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1452-1519

Creation Date: 1489-1490
Size: 21 in × 15 in. (54× 39 cm)
Media: Oil on panel
Location: Czartoryski Museum, Kraków, Poland

Pietro Rotari's "A Sleeping Girl"

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1707-1762

Antonio Canova's "Bust of Napoleon"

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1757-1822

Creation Date: c. 1810
Size: 102.3 × 87 in. (261× 221 cm)
Media: Marble

Photo by me. This is either from Malmaison in France or the Apsley House in London--I can't quite recall. There are many copies of this sculpture in the world.

Michelangelo's Tomb

As one final bonus for today, here is an image of Michelangelo's own tomb, which, when you click the image to see a larger version of it, has wonderful figures. The drapery on top is painted, oddly enough.

Pictures from Inside the Sistine Chapel

As a nice little bonus I thought I'd post these photos I took from inside the Sistine Chapel.

Michelangelo Buonarroti's "Pietà"

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1978

Creation Date: 1475-1564
Media: Marble
Location: St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome, Italy



Below is a photo I took of this amazing sculpture. Obviously the photo above is much better, but this is what it looks like in context.

Raphael's "Portrait of Jeanne d'Aragon"

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1483-1520

Creation Date: 1518
Size: 47.2 x 37.4 in. (120 x 95 cm)
Media: Oil on wood, transferred to canvas
Location: The Louvre, Paris, France

Detail photo by me.

Michelangelo's "David" vs. Bernini's "David"

These two marble sculptures of David were both made by incredible artists. What are the philosophical differences between them? How do those philosophies manifest themselves differently?

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's "David"

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1777-1860

Creation Date: 1817
Size: 66.9 in. (170 cm)
Media: Marble
Location: Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy



Michelangelo Buanarotti's "David"

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1475-1564

Creation Date: 1504
Size: 17 ft. (5.17 m)
Media: Marble
Location: Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, Italy

Michelangelo Buonarroti's "Moses"

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1475-1564

Creation Date: c. 1513-1515
Size: h: 92.5 in. (h: 235 cm)
Media: Marble
Location: San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome, Italy

Figure Sketch by Benedetto Luti

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1666–1724
Media: Chalk? on paper
Location: Private Collection

Domenico Ghirlandaio "Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni"

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1449–1494

Creation Date: c. 1488-90
Size: 19.2 x 30.31 in. (49 x 77 cm)
Media: Tempera on panel
Location: Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Spain

Bouguereau x 2 Week - "The Virgin With Angels" and "Little Esmeralda"

On this Day in the History of Art: Vilhelm Hammershøi born (1864), Emily Dickinson died (1886)

This week I'm going to post two images per day of Bouguereau’s work--one piece that I don't like and one that I do.

Nationality: French
Born-Died: 1825-1905



The Virgin With Angels
Creation Date: 1900
Media: Oil on canvas

This painting is an example of artistic second-handedness that would rival the likes of Peter Keating.

Sandro Botticelli's "The Trials of Moses"

On this Day in the History of Art: Rome sacked by Spanish and German troops, which some historians mark as the end of the Renaissance (1527), Stolen "Guitar Player" by Johannes Vermeer recovered (1974)

Nationality: Italian
Born-Died: 1445 - 1510
Creation Date: 1481-1482
Size: 137.2 in × 220 in. (348.5 cm × 558 cm)
Media: Fresco
Location: Sistine Chapel, Rome, Italy

Botticelli is a very interesting figure in the history of art because not only is his work really great, but he was virtually forgotten for hundreds of years.

Not many people know that the Sistine Chapel in Rome has many painted works in addition to the famous works by Michelangelo and this is one such work that was painted there. Although this image may appear to present one scene with many figures (and it is painted to appear that way), the painting was intended to depict various scenes from the life of Moses. He is shown here wearing yellow robes, sometimes with a green garment performing various actions throughout the image such as leading the Jews to the promised land, killing an Egyptian for harassing someone, and taking off his shoes which I believe is something he is said to have done before coming into the presence of God in the Old Testament.

Atlas Week: Atlas from the Doge's Palace in Venice

On this Day in the History of Art: The sun dog phenomena is painted (“Vädersolstavlan”) (1535), Franz Xavier Winterhalter born (1805), Daniel Chester French born (1850), Bram Stoker died (1912)

Because the Atlas Shrugged movie came out recently I thought it would be fun to post a week of images of Atlas by various artists from history.

Nationality: Italian
Creation Date: 1646
Media: Stone and plaster (?)
Location: Doge's Palace, Venice, Itlay

A nice feature of this sculpture is the way Atlas' legs are posed as if he is moving forward or balancing on his platform.

Atlas Week: Il Guercino's "Atlas"

On this Day in the History of Art: "We the Living" published (1936)

Because the Atlas Shrugged movie came out recently I thought it would be fun to post a week of images of Atlas by various artists from history.

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1591-1666

Creation Date: 1646
Media: oil on canvas
Location: Museo Bardini, Florence, Itlay