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Rome was a neglected swamp when Pope Nicholas V came to power. An extremely well educated humanist, Medici ally, and frequenter of the classicist circles in Florence and Bologna, Nicholas was elected pope in 1447, arriving in a city whose former glory was buried in the mud.

The papacy he inherited was fragile, as it recently endured the relocation from Avignon and the infamous Papal Schism. A relatively peaceful man, Nicholas V was intent on dispelling further papal conflicts and focus on rebuilding the Eternal City. Only through his mass patronage of artists, architects, and bookmakers was Rome able to awake from its slumber, reborn with a new Renaissance skin. This episode looks into the history of Pope Nicholas V, his patronage, and the crucial groundwork he laid for the reconstruction of not only the Vatican and the Apostolic Library, but for all of Rome to prepare itself for the glory of the High Renaissance.

Primary Works Discussed:
Fra Angelico, Niccoline Chapel, 1447-49.

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Lustful, unpredictable, and mischievous, Fra Filippo Lippi is a notorious figure of the Italian Renaissance. This episode surveys his life, looking primarily at three artworks: the San Lorenzo Annunciation, the Double Portrait at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and his famous Lippina.

Together, these works uncover a story about a skilled artist, but one who constantly upset his social structure. We use his work to glimpse into the world of Renaissance women, including the nun Lucrezia Buti who he stole from her convent and eventually married. Beyond the works, we explore stories about his turbulent life. Was Fra Filippo really sold as a slave by Barbary pirates? Did Cosimo de' Medici truly lock him in the Palazzo Medici to stop him from womanizing Florence? All of these questions and more are answered.

Works Discussed:

Annunciation, San Lorenzo, ca. 1440
Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement, Met NYC, ca. 1440
Lippina, Uffizi Gallery, ca. 1457-1465

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San Marco, Florence: Nowhere else does the entirety of Renaissance social history converge in such a dynamic way. Upon returning from exile in 1434, Cosimo de' Medici found himself laden with guilt over the means in which his family had acquired their massive fortune. Certainly, with Pope Eugenius IV living in Florence with the Papal Curia, there was no better time for the wealthy banker to invest in religious buildings, namely the convent of San Marco.

On this site, Cosimo de' Medici would display the wide range of his patronage, extending to architecture, painting, and to establishing a public library for the Republic of Florence. This episode analyzes the social and visual components of the reconstruction of San Marco, unpacking the rich symbolism in Michelozzo's structure built to house the vast collection of manuscripts acquired by the humanist Niccolò Niccoli. Then, it looks at the painted decoration of San Marco by the famed Renaissance artist Fra Angelico, deeply considering how painting displays the social structures that enabled their very creation.

Works Discussed:
Michelozzo, San Marco, Florence, 1429-44
Fra Angelico, San Marco Altarpiece, 1438-43

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What does it look like across three mediums when a new style harmonizes, and the conventions of the Middle Ages take a new form? Looking at three diverse artists and three different patrons, as well as an example of painting, sculpture, and architecture, this episode argues for the legibility of new stylistic concepts that constitute the modernity of the 15th century. Ultimately, this interaction gives insight to the intentions of the patrons in question, Cosimo de' Medici, Paolo Guinigi, and the Uzzano family (or Capponi?).

In doing so, works like Michelozzo's Palazzo Medici can be seen in conjunction with Domenico Veneziano's Saint Lucy Altarpiece, or with Jacopo della Quercia's sculptural works. With radical innovation and antique revival at the center, this episode evaluates the artist-patron relationship and the effects of multi-medium stylistic solidification against the Quattrocento public eye.

Works Discussed:
Michelozzo, Palazzo Medici, ca. 1446.
Jacopo della Quercia, Monument to Ilaria del Carretto, 1406.
Domenico Veneziano, Saint Lucy Altarpiece, ca. 1446.

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In this monumental 50th episode, join me in discussing a likewise monumental artist of the early Renaissance: Donatello.

This episode examines the landmark works of the Florentine sculptor, taking a close look at his early life, mature works, and cultural impact. Donatello skillfully navigated the practical world of civic sculpture, then became a sought-after court artist in the elite world of early modern Italy. Looking closely at three sculptures in three mediums, this discussion details Donatello's vast innovations towards embedding life and sensation in his figures, an effect that would pulse through the veins of future Renaissance sculpture thanks to his departures from convention.

Works Discussed:

David, marble, ca. 1408.
Saint George, marble, 1415-17.
Penitent Magdalene, wood, ca. 1430-50.
Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata, 1453.
David, bronze, 1440-60.

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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 and linear perspective as artists looked away from the conventions of Gothic painting, particularly in the Holy Trinity, which demonstrated a new mastery over perspectival techniques, paving the way for future Renaissance artists to expand upon Masaccio's genius.

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Works Discussed:
Masaccio, Expulsion from Paradise, Brancacci Chapel, 1425-27
Masolino, Temptation in the Garden, Brancacci Chapel, 1425-27
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, 1425-27
Masaccio, Holy Trinity, Santa Maria Novella, ca. 1427

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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 masterworks, one from Lorenzo Monaco and one from Gentile da Fabriano, this episode examines the historical moment and the stylistic factors that unify and separate the Gothic and International Gothic in Italy.

Further, through Giorgio Vasari, we can look at how historical shifts in artistic style were perceived by later Renaissance writers, who looked to organize the trajectory of Italian art as a series of quantifiable improvements. These two artists help us bridge the end of the medieval period with the developments that will become Renaissance art.

Works discussed:
Lorenzo Monaco, Coronation of the Virgin - https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/coronation-of-the-virgin
Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi -
https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/adoration-of-the-magi

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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 the banking crisis in Florence at the dawn of the Hundred Years' War, and Milanese military aggression under Gian Galeazzo Visconti.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, Italy was a center of trade and multi-branch banking that spanned the Mediterranean and beyond. This discussion looks at the relationship between trade routes and plague outbreaks in the larger picture of Florentine banking and mercantilism as necessary precursors for the rise of civic Humanism. Likewise, it explores the religious and visual implications of post Black Death Italy, and the significance of Florence's unexpected triumph over Milan.

Images discussed:
Titian, Saint Mark Enthroned, ca. 1510, Santa Maria della Salute, Venice

Triumph of Death, ca. 1440, Palazzo Abetellis, Palermo

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