Milan had a famous university. But it was not a center for famous artists like Florence was. But Ludovico Sforza was very interested in the arts. The duke liked to give big parties. He like to put on pageants. He also wanted someone to design new wea...
THE FRENCH WORD RENAISSANCE MEANS REBIRTH. IT IS THE NAME GIVEN TO ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING PERIODS IN HISTORY. ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO GIVE EXACT DATES. BUT THE RENAISSANCE LASTED FROM THE EARLY OR MIDDLE 1400S TO AROUND 1600. THE WORD IS FRENCH, BUT THE...
Leonardo stayed at Verrocchios workshop a long timethirteen years. He became a master and a member of the guild. But he didnt move out to start a studio of his own. Perhaps Verrocchios studio felt like a home to Leonardo, a place where he belonged an...
IN LEONARDOS TIME, PATRONS ORDERED TWO KINDS OF PAINTINGS. THEY EITHER WANTED PORTRAITS, WHICH WERE PICTURES OF THEMSELVES OR FAMILY MEMBERS, OR THEY WANTED RELIGIOUS PAINTINGS, WHICH SHOWED MOMENTS FROM THE LIFE OF JESUS AND THE SAINTS. THERE WERE N...
VERROCCHIOS STUDIO WAS TYPICAL OF ITS DAY. APPRENTICES WERE AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE LADDER. ABOVE THEM WERE WORKERS CALLED JOURNEYMEN. THEY HAD MANY YEARS EXPERIENCE AND HELPED TEACH THE APPRENTICES. THEY WERE ABLE WORKERS BUT WERE NOT GOOD ENOUGH...
During the 1400s, Florence was the most important, most exciting city in all the world. It was one of five city-states in what is now Italy. Being a city-state meant Florence had its own government. It was called the Signoria. But for many years the...
PARCHMENT IS MADE FROM THE SKINS OF ANIMALS SUCH AS SHEEP, CALVES, OR GOATS. THE SKIN IS DRIED AND TREATED UNTIL IT BECOMES FLAT AND PAPERLIKE. PARCHMENT IS MUCH STRONGER THAN PAPER. IT IS MORE EXPENSIVE, TOO. THE BEAUTIFUL PRAYER BOOKS AND BIBLES CO...
On April 15, 1452, in a tiny hill town in Italy, a baby boy was born. His father was a well-to-do businessman, Ser Piero. His mother, Caterina, was a poor young peasant girl. We dont even know her last name. Their baby was named Leonardo. Because the...
Some people are enormously talented and then there is Leonardo da Vinci. He lived at a time when there were many extremely talented people all around him. Even so, he stood out. He could draw and paint better than anyone. One of his paintings, the Mo...
Right after Howard Carters discovery of the tomb, scary stories started to be told. Stories about curses. Over the entrances of many ancient Egyptian tombs were warnings in hieroglyphs. People better stay away, the warnings said. Because anybody who...
