Michelangelo Buonarroti | 267 Drawings | Part.⁴

• "The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one's self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course.
• "The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection."
• "There is no greater harm than that of time wasted".
• "Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle".
• "What do you despise? By this you are truly known".
• "What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed"?

Michelangelo Buonarroti | 267 Drawings | Part.³

• My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth's loveliness.
• The best artist has that thought alone which is contained within the marble shell; The sculptor's hand can only break the spell To free the figures slumbering in the stone.
• The best of artists has no conception that the marble alone does not contain within itself.
• The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.
• The greatest artist has no conception which a single block of white marble does not potentially contain within its mass, but only a hand obedient to the mind can penetrate to this image.
• The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has.
• The more the marbles wastes, the more the statue grows.

Michelangelo Buonarroti | 267 Drawings | Part.²

• "In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it".
• "It is necessary to keep one's compass in one's eyes and not in the hand, for the hands execute, but the eye judges".
• "It is well with me only when I have a chisel in my hand".
• "Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish".
• "Many believe - and I believe - that I have been designated for this work by God. In spite of my old age, I do not want to give it up; I work out of love for God and I put all my hope in Him".

Michelangelo Buonarroti | 267 Drawings | Part.¹

A towering genius in the history of Western art, Michelangelo (Italian, Caprese 1475-1564 Rome)🎨 was celebrated during his long life for the excellence of his disegno, the power of drawing and invention that provided the foundation for all of the arts.

For his mastery of drawing, design, sculpture, painting, and architecture, he was called Il divino ("the divine one") by his contemporaries.

His powerful imagery and dazzling technical virtuosity transported viewers and imbued all of his works with a staggering force that continues to enthrall us today. | © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

El Greco | The Adoration of the Name of Jesus, 1579

The larger version of this picture is in the Escorial in Madrid, and was probably intended for King Philip II.

El Greco🎨 made small copies of several of his own pictures to keep in his studio, of which this is probably one. The subject is thought to be an allegory of the Holy League, a military alliance between Spain, the Papacy and the Venetian Republic, which was formed to combat the rise of Islam and the Turks.

The Pope, the Doge of Venice and Philip II are shown kneeling in adoration of the name of Jesus, shown in the heavens as IHS, these being the first letters of Jesus in Greek (IHSOUS).

The name of Jesus was believed to have power over infidels, and the picture perhaps commemorates the League's victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 which was led by Philip II's brother Don Juan. It may have been painted after the latter's death in 1578. Heretics are shown being swallowed by a monstrous beast, symbolising Hell, swimming in a sea of fire. | © The National Gallery

Charles William Mitchell | Hypatia of Alexandria, 1885

Charles William Mitchell (1854-1903) was an British🎨 Pre-Raphaelite painter from Newcastle.

A contemporary of John William Waterhouse🎨, his work is similar in many ways.

His one famous piece was Hypatia, shown in 1885 and likely inspired by the Charles Kingsley serialized novel Hypatia, or New Foes with an Old Face. This painting is currently in the Laing Art Gallery.

Charles William Mitchell - Hypatia, 1885

Caravaggio | Madonna of the Rosary / Madonna del Rosario, 1608

The Madonna of the Rosary is a painting finished in 1607 by the Italian🎨 Baroque painter Caravaggio🎨, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It is the only painting by Caravaggio that could be called a standard Baroque🎨 altarpiece.

The commissioner of the work is uncertain. As altarpiece it would have been commissioned for a Dominican church, given the presence of Saint Dominic and Saint Peter Martyr of Verona. The donor is included in the painting; at the left, dressed in black with a ruff, seeking protection under the cloak of Saint Dominic and peering out at the viewer.

According to some, the donor was Nicholas (or Nicholas) Radulovic, a rich merchant of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik in Croatia) and the first idea for the composition was a Madonna Enthroned with Saints Nicholas and Vito, then the subject was changed to reflect the wishes of the Dominicans.

Caravaggio | Maddalena in pianto / Magdalene Grieving, 1605-1606

According to some research, "Magdalene grieving" (1605-1606), would be a preliminary study for the character of one of the most famous works of the Lombard master conserved at the Musée du Louvre "The death of the Virgin" (1601-1605).

Commissioned in 1601 for the church of Santa Maria della Scala in Rome, The Death of the Virgin (c. 1601-1606) could not have been finished before 1605-1606.

After being refused by the monks, who found it unworthy of the church, it was replaced by a work on the same subject painted by Carlo Saraceni.

A work of light and shadow

The composition is arranged around the Virgin, the painting's central theme. The compact mass of the assemblage and the posturing of the figures guide the viewer's eye toward the abandoned body. The theatrical drape of blood-red cloth heightens the scene's dramatic effect. The painter makes use of the nuances of light and shadow to model the volumes of the objects, figures, and clothing.

Tiziano Vecellio | Ecce Homo, 1570-1576

Dimension: Height: 100.5 cm.; Width: 100.8 cm.

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Provenance: Royal Collection (Real Monasterio de El Escorial, Madrid, Sala Prioral)

Current location: Museo Nacional del Prado

Christ shown to the People: Ecce Homo, 1570-1576 depicts a passage from the Gospel of Saint John (19, 4-5) which recounts how after Christ had been whipped and crowned with thorns:

"Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.
And Pilate saith unto them: Behold the man"!

Caravaggio | The Lute Player / Suonatore di Liuto, 1595-1596

The Lute Player is an early work by Caravaggio, who sought above all to convey the reality and solidity of the surrounding world. We can already see the elements of the artist's style which were to have such a widespread influence on other artists.

The figure of a young boy dressed in a white shirt stands out clearly against the dark background.

The sharp sidelighting and the falling shadows give the objects an almost tangible volume and weight.

Caravaggio was interested in the uniqueness of the surrounding world, and there are markedly individual features not only in the youth's face but also in the objects which make up the still life: the damaged pear, the crack in the lute, the crumpled pages of the music.

The melody written on those pages is that of a then fashionable song by Jacques Arcadelt, "You know that I love you".

Caravaggio | The Lute Player | The Hermitage version, 1595-1596

Guido Reni | Portrait of Beatrice Cenci, 1599

Author: Guido Reni🎨 (Italian Baroque painter, 1575-1642)

Medium: Oil canvas

Dimensions: 64,5 x 49 cm

Current location: Palazzo Barberini, Rome

A long historical tradition has identified Beatrice Cenci in this portrait.

The young parricide, who was processed and beheaded in Rome in 1599, is immortalized in prison by Guido Reni a few instants before being killed.

The girl turns to us with an appealing and innocent gaze that reminds us of her tragic fate. After years of oppression and abduction in a castle, Beatrice supported by her brothers and stepmother planned the murder of her father, Francesco Cenci, who was a dissolute and deprived man.

Peter Paul Rubens | Study of Two Heads, 1609

Artist: Peter Paul Rubens🎨 (Flemish Baroque Era painter, 1577-1640)

Title: Study of Two Heads

Date: ca. 1609

Medium: oil on panel

Dimensions: Height: 69.9 cm (27.5 in); Width: 52.1 cm (20.5 in)

Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Rubens painted studies of heads after live models and artistic sources, creating a cast of characters that served in turn as models for figures in religious and mythological works.

Sandro Botticelli | Profile of a Woman / Bella Simonetta, 1485

Museum: Pitti Palace

Collection: Palatine Gallery

Location: Prometheus Room

Technique: Tempera on wood

Size: 61 x 40.5 cm

Inventory: Inv. 1912 n. 353

The painting is also known by the title “Bella Simonetta”, based on an early identification of the young woman as Simonetta Cattaneo (1453-1476), a Genoese noblewoman who went on to marry the Florentine Marco Vespucci in 1469 and was loved by Giuliano de’ Medici.

Caravaggio | The Supper at Emmaus, 1601

Artist: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610)⏭

Full title: The Supper at Emmaus

Date made: 1601

Medium and support: Oil and tempera on canvas

Dimensions: 141 x 196.2 cm

Location: National Gallery, London

Acquisition credit: Presented by the Hon. George Vernon, 1839

Inventory number: NG172

Location in Gallery: Room 32

Michelangelo Buonarroti | Risen Christ, 1521

"The Risen Christ" - "Cristo della Minerva", also known as Christ the Redeemer or Christ Carrying the Cross, is a marble sculpture by the Italy High Renaissance master Michelangelo, finished in 1521.

It is in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, to the left of the main altar.

The work was commissioned in June 1514, by the Roman patrician Metello Vari, who stipulated only that the nude standing figure would have the Cross in his arms, but left the composition entirely to Michelangelo.

Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530) The Virgin and child, 1528

This intimate devotional image shows the Virgin looking for signs of the Christ Child’s first teeth. The painting is unfinished, but provided the starting point for at least three other versions of similar size, all apparently painted at the same time by Sarto and his workshop.

The painting must have been a devotional image intended for a domestic setting. It has a natural directness as the Virgin seems to be firmly but gently holding down the Christ Child’s lower lip and searching for signs of teeth.

El Greco (1541-1614) | 156 artworks | Part.³

Domenikos Theotokopoulos (1541 - April 7, 1614), other wise known as “El Greco” due to his Greek heritage, was a popular Greek painter ⏩, sculptor, and architect of the Spanish Renaissance ⏩.
He was a master of post-Byzantine art by the age of 26, when he traveled to Venice, and later Rome, where he opened his first workshop.
For biographical notes -in english and italian- and other works by El Greco see:

• El Greco (1541-1614) | 156 artworks | Part.¹ ⏩

Guido Reni (1575-1642)

Guido Reni (4 November 1575 - 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter⏩ of high-Baroque style⏩. He painted primarily religious works, as well as mythological and allegorical subjects. Active in Rome, Naples, and his native Bologna, he became the dominant figure in the Bolognese School, and his eclectic classicism was widely influential.

El Greco (1541-1614) | 156 artworks | Part.²

El Greco's dramatic and expressionistic style was met with puzzlement by his contemporaries but found appreciation in the 20th century.

El Greco is regarded as a precursor of both Expressionism and Cubism, while his personality and works were a source of inspiration for poets and writers such as Rainer Maria Rilke and Nikos Kazantzakis.

El Greco has been characterized by modern scholars as an artist so individual that he belongs to no conventional school.

He is best known for tortuously elongated figures and often fantastic or phantasmagorical pigmentation, marrying Byzantine traditions with those of Western painting.

For biographical notes -in english and italian- and other works by El Greco see:

• El Greco (1541-1614) | 156 artworks | Part.¹ ⏩
• El Greco (1541-1614) | 156 artworks | Part.³ ⏩

El Greco (1541-1614) | 156 artworks | Part.¹

Doménikos Theotokópoulos / Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος [ðoˈminikos θeotoˈkopulos]; 1541 - 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish ⏩ Renaissance ⏩.

"El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his Greek ⏩ origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος (Doménikos Theotokópoulos), often adding the word Κρής (Krēs, "Cretan").