Renaissance Artists & Crafts

Lorenzo Ghiberti was the man behind the famous “Doors of Paradise” of the Florentine Baptistery – a work on which he labored for almost half a century. His victory in the 1401 competition against Filippo Brunelleschi made him famous, and his doors became a symbol of Florentine republican pride. To this day, they are considered one of the greatest works of art of the era and the legacy of an artist who inextricably linked craftsmanship and art.

Piero della Francesca is considered one of the quietest yet most profound masters of the Renaissance. His frescoes, portraits, and theoretical writings combine clarity and geometry with a timeless beauty. From the frescoes in Arezzo to the “Gates of Paradise” in Urbino, his works depict a world that remains both ordered and mysterious.

Antonello da Messina Introduction: The Gaze That Endures Across CenturiesWhoever stands before Antonello da Messina’s famous Condottiere in the Louvre cannot help but feel the force of that gaze. A man in a black cap, with a severe mouth and alert eyes—he seems not...