All Curated Topics


237 Works by Raphael — He Finally Came to America
The only Renaissance master who never had a US retrospective finally gets one. The Louvre, Borghese, and Uffizi lend simultaneously; the Colonna Altarpiece reunites for the first time in centuries; La Fornarina leaves Italy for only the second time. At the Met this summer.


From Leonardo to Caravaggio — In China for the First Time
Original works by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Titian, and Caravaggio — 36 Renaissance masterworks that have never appeared together in China before, at the National Art Museum of China this summer.


The Apple Raphael Refused to Explain
Eden, Paris, or a betrothal gift? Raphael offered three answers and went silent, leaving the decision entirely in your hands.


The Same Face: Botticelli Kept Painting Her for Twenty Years
Venus, Flora, Madonna — Botticelli painted the same woman three times across twenty years. She died at 23. He asked to be buried beside her.


Goddesses Down to Earth: How Renaissance Masters Grounded the Divine
A must-see lesson at the Uffizi: Watch Botticelli, Lippi, and Titian transform untouchable divinities into flesh-and-blood women.


The Botanical Cipher: Botticelli's Political Message in 'Primavera'
Don't be fooled by the pretty goddesses. This is a scientific specimen sheet of 500 Tuscan plants—and a coded message to the Medici.