Uffizi

The Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi) is a palace or palazzo in Florence, holding one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. Uffizi - The museum and its history. Building of the palace was commenced in 1560 by Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de' Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates - hence the name uffizi, meaning offices. Construction work ended in 1581. Over the years, parts of the palace evolved into a storage place of many works of art coll ...

Including:

• Uffizi - The museum and its history
• Uffizi - The collections
• Uffizi - Self-portraits in the Vasari Corridor

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Building of the palace was commenced in 1560 by Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de' Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates - hence the name uffizi, meaning offices. Construction work ended in 1581. Over the years, parts of the palace evolved into a storage place of many works of art collected by the Medici family. After the decline of the Medici, the art treasures remained in Florence, forming one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors on request since the 16th centur ...

See also:

Uffizi, Uffizi - The museum and its history, Uffizi - The collections, Uffizi - Self-portraits in the Vasari Corridor

Read more here: » Uffizi: Encyclopedia II - Uffizi - The museum and its history

The Aphrodite of Knidos was one of the most famous creations of the Attic sculptor Praxiteles (4th century BC). The statue became famous for being one of the first religious depictions of a major female god completely nude. According to a possibly apocryphal account by Pliny the Elder, Praxiteles received a commission from the citizens of Kos for a statue of the goddess Aphrodite. Praxiteles then created two v ...

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Raphael or Raffaello (Urbino, Italy, April 6, 1483–Rome, April 6, 1520) was a master painter and architect of the Florentine school in the Italian High Renaissance, celebrated for the perfection and softness of his paintings. He was also called Raffaello Sanzio, Raffaello Santi, Raffaello de Urbino or Rafael Sanzio de Urbino. Raphael - Biography. Raphael was born the son of Giovanni Santi and Màgia di Battista Ciarla, who died in 1491. His father was a poet and a painter for the cour ...

Including:

• Raphael - Biography
• Raphael - Dates of birth and death
• Raphael - Critical assessment and legacy
• Raphael - Other works
• Raphael - Chronology of main works

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Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco (May 4, 1655 - January 27, 1732) was an Italian maker of musical instruments, generally regarded as the inventor of the piano. Bartolomeo Cristofori - Life. The available source materials on Cristofori's life include his birth and death records, two wills, the bills he submitted to his employers, and a single interview done by Scipione Maffei. From the latter, we have both Maffei's notes and the published journal article. Cristofori was born in Padua in the Republic ...

Including:

• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Life
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - The first appearance of the piano
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Later life
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Cristofori's pianos
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Design
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Tonal quality
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - The initial reception of the piano
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Surviving instruments
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Assessments of Cristofori

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Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431, near Vicenza, Italy – September 13, 1506, Mantua) was an Italian Renaissance artist from Florence, whose work included paintings, engravings, and frescoes. Andrea Mantegna - Biography. Mantegna was born in Isola di Cartura, near Vicenza in the Republic of Venice, second son of a poor woodcutter, Biagio. At the age of ten he had started as the apprentice of Francesco Squarcione, a mediocre Paduan painter. Squarcione, whose original vocation was tailoring, appears to have had a rem ...

Including:

• Andrea Mantegna - Biography
• Andrea Mantegna - Work in Mantua
• Andrea Mantegna - Engravings
• Andrea Mantegna - Assessment and legacy
• Andrea Mantegna - Major works
• Andrea Mantegna - Reference

Read more here: » Andrea Mantegna: Encyclopedia - Andrea Mantegna

Bartolommeo (or Baccio) Bandinelli (November 12, 1493 - February 7, 1560), Florentine sculptor and painter, was the son of an eminent goldsmith, and from him Bandinelli obtained the first elements of drawing. Showing a strong inclination for the fine arts, he was early placed under Rustici, a sculptor, and a friend of Leonardo da Vinci, with whom he made rapid progress. The ruling motive in his life seems to have been jealousy both of Benvenuto Cellini and of Michelangelo, on ...

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An art gallery or art museum is a space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art, and usually primarily paintings, illustrations, and sculpture. It is also sometimes used as a location for the sale of art. The art museum is considered a fairly modern invention, the first being the Lourve in Paris, which was established in 1793, soon after the French Revolution when the royal treasures were declared for the people. Here we see the beginnings of removing art collections from the private domain of aristocracy and the wealthy into the public sphere, where they were seen as sites for educ ...

Including:

• Art gallery - Architecture
• Art gallery - Notable art galleries

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During the next period (1530-1550), as was foreshadowed by his Martyrdom of St. Peter, Titian devoted himself more and more to the dramatic style. From this time date his historical scenes, of which unhappily it is difficult to judge, the most characteristic having been much injured or destroyed; thus, the Battle of Cadore, the artist's greatest effort to master movement and to express even tumult, his most violent attempt to go out of himself and achieve the heroic, wherein he rivals the War of Pisa, The Battle of An ...

See also:

Titian, Titian - Childhood, Titian - Early work, Titian - Growth, Titian - Maturity, Titian - Final years, Titian - Critique, Titian - Family

Read more here: » Titian: Encyclopedia II - Titian - Maturity

The painting was one of a series which Botticelli was inspired to paint after written descriptions by the 2nd century historian Lucian of masterpieces of Ancient Greece which had long since disappeared by Botticelli's time. The ancient painting by Apelles was called Anadyomene Venus, "Anadyome" meaning "rising from the sea"; this title was also used for Botticelli's painting, "The Birth of Venus" only becoming its better known title in the 19th century. The below mural from Pompeii was never seen by Botticelli, but may have been a Ro ...

See also:

The Birth of Venus Botticelli, The Birth of Venus Botticelli - Classical Inspiration, The Birth of Venus Botticelli - Botticelli's Birth of Venus in Literature, The Birth of Venus Botticelli - Botticelli's Birth of Venus in Popular Culture

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From the 6th to the 9th century, the region was settled by the Bavarii together with the Langobards and the romanised natives. As part of the Frankish empire and later the Holy Roman Empire the region had a strategical importance as a bridgehead to Italy as southern part of the duchy of Bavaria. Large parts of the province was donated to the Bishops of Trento and Brixen-Bressanone. After their caretakers, the earls of Tyrol (See Meinhard II of Gorizia-Tyrol) had gathered the province under their command, the region together with the valleys ...

See also:

South Tyrol, South Tyrol - History, South Tyrol - World War I, South Tyrol - Fascist rule and World War II, South Tyrol - After World War II, South Tyrol - Today, South Tyrol - Government, South Tyrol - Economy, South Tyrol - Geography, South Tyrol - Mountains, South Tyrol - Notable natives

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Study for The Adoration of the Magi, 1478–1481 Perspectival study for The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1481 Filippino Lippi, Adoration of the Magi, 1496 – The altarpiece eventually delivered to San Donato a Scopeto ...

See also:

Adoration of the Magi Leonardo, Adoration of the Magi Leonardo - Related works, Adoration of the Magi Leonardo - Reference, Adoration of the Magi Leonardo - External link

Read more here: » Adoration of the Magi Leonardo: Encyclopedia II - Adoration of the Magi Leonardo - Related works

The available source materials on Cristofori's life include his birth and death records, two wills, the bills he submitted to his employers, and a single interview done by Scipione Maffei. From the latter, we have both Maffei's notes and the published journal article. Cristofori was born in Padua in the Republic of Venice. Nothing is known of his early life. A tale is told that he served as an apprentice to the great violin maker Nicolò Amati, based on the appearance in a 1680 census record of a "Christofaro Bartolomei" living in Ama ...

See also:

Bartolomeo Cristofori, Bartolomeo Cristofori - Life, Bartolomeo Cristofori - The first appearance of the piano, Bartolomeo Cristofori - Later life, Bartolomeo Cristofori - Cristofori's pianos, Bartolomeo Cristofori - Design, Bartolomeo Cristofori - Tonal quality, Bartolomeo Cristofori - The initial reception of the piano, Bartolomeo Cristofori - Surviving instruments, Bartolomeo Cristofori - Assessments of Cristofori

Read more here: » Bartolomeo Cristofori: Encyclopedia II - Bartolomeo Cristofori - Life

The region is known in the world thanks to many arts's works and to wine Chianti, one of the most famous wines in Italy. Doens't forget many breedings of bovines and production of olive oil, principally in Lucca (famous oil in middle-age to care the skin from fire). The turism is principally in arts's cities (Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Siena, San Gimignano), on the coast and in the isles. Importants are the caves of marble in Versilia, Garfagnana and in the Alpi Apuane. In the summer many people from Italy and Germany go to the beaches and to th ...

See also:

Tuscany, Tuscany - History, Tuscany - Economy, Tuscany - Provinces of Tuscany, Tuscany - Landscapes, Tuscany - Photo galleries

Read more here: » Tuscany: Encyclopedia II - Tuscany - Economy

The sources for Paolo Uccello’s life are few: Giorgio Vasari’s biography, written 75 years after Paolo’s death, and a few contemporary official documents. Uccello was born Paolo di Dono in Florence in 1397. His father, Dono di Paolo, was a barber-surgeon from Pratovecchio near Arezzo, his mother’s name was Antonia. From 1407 was apprenticed to Lorenzo Ghiberti’s workshop, the premier centre for Florentine art at the time, where he began a lifelong friendship with Donatello. By 1424 he wa ...

See also:

Paolo Uccello, Paolo Uccello - Life, Paolo Uccello - Works

Read more here: » Paolo Uccello: Encyclopedia II - Paolo Uccello - Life

On 11 January, 1503, Mazzola was born the eighth child of Filippo Mazzola and an unknown mother. Just two years later, his father died of the plague, leaving his sons to be brought up under their uncles, Michele and Pier Ilario. Mazzola learned painting from his father and uncles. Giorgio Vasari, in his Lives of the Artists, notes, his grammar school teacher recommended training in painting after seeing the musing drawings of his student. In 1515, his uncles, Pier Ilario and Michele, receive a commission from Nicolo Zangrandi for the ...

See also:

Parmigianino, Parmigianino - Life History, Parmigianino - Works, Parmigianino - The Madonna with the Long Neck, Parmigianino - List of Works

Read more here: » Parmigianino: Encyclopedia II - Parmigianino - Life History

The architectural form of the art gallery was established by Sir John Soane with his design for the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 1817. This established the gallery as a series of interconnected rooms with largely uninterupted wall spaces for hanging pictures and indirect lighting from skylights or roof lanterns. The late 19th century saw a boom in the building of public art galleries in Europe an America, being an essential cultural feature of larger cities. Art galleries were built alongside museums and public libraries as part of the munici ...

See also:

Art gallery, Art gallery - Architecture, Art gallery - Notable art galleries

Read more here: » Art gallery: Encyclopedia II - Art gallery - Architecture

Mantegna was born in Isola di Cartura, near Vicenza in the Republic of Venice, second son of a poor woodcutter, Biagio. At the age of ten he had started as the apprentice of Francesco Squarcione, a mediocre Paduan painter. Squarcione, whose original vocation was tailoring, appears to have had a remarkable enthusiasm for ancient art, and a faculty for acting. Like his famous compatriot Petrarca, Squarcione was something of a fanatic for ancient Rome: he travelled in Italy, and perhaps Greece, collecting antique statues, reliefs, vases, etc., ...

See also:

Andrea Mantegna, Andrea Mantegna - Biography, Andrea Mantegna - Work in Mantua, Andrea Mantegna - Engravings, Andrea Mantegna - Assessment and legacy, Andrea Mantegna - Major works, Andrea Mantegna - Reference

Read more here: » Andrea Mantegna: Encyclopedia II - Andrea Mantegna - Biography

Annibale first decorated a small room in the Palazzo Farnese called the Camerino with stories of Hercules; aptly because the room housed the famous greco-roman sculpture of the hypermuscular Farnese Hercules. Starting 1597, he led a team painting the ceiling of the grand salon with the secular themes of The Loves of the Gods, or as Bellori described it, "Human Love governed by Celestial Love". Although the ceiling is riotously rich in the interplay of illusionistic elements, it retains the framed and restrained classicism of High Renaissance ...

See also:

Annibale Carracci, Annibale Carracci - Work in Rome, Annibale Carracci - Chronology of Works

Read more here: » Annibale Carracci: Encyclopedia II - Annibale Carracci - Work in Rome

He was born in Florence, where his family had been landowners in the Val d'Ambra for three generations. His father, Giovanni Cellini, built and played musical instruments; he married Maria Lisabetta Granacci, and eighteen years elapsed before they had any progeny. Benvenuto (meaning "Welcome") was the third child. The father destined him for the same profession as himself, and endeavoured to thwart his inclination for design and metal work. When he had reached the age of fifteen, his father reluctantly agreed to his apprenticeship to ...

See also:

Benvenuto Cellini, Benvenuto Cellini - Life, Benvenuto Cellini - Works, Benvenuto Cellini - Cellini in Literature, Benvenuto Cellini - Reference

Read more here: » Benvenuto Cellini: Encyclopedia II - Benvenuto Cellini - Life