Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam

The most famous section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam.  This scene is located next to the Creation of Eve, which is the panel at the center of the room, and the Congregation of the Waters, which is closer to the altar. The Creation of Adam …

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Botticelli’s Birth of Venus

Aside from his painting of the Primavera, Sandro Botticelli’s other greatest work, done for the Medici family, is the Birth of Venus.  Unfortunately, we do not know for sure which Medici it was painted for, or which location it was originally hung in. Before considering the subject matter, it is …

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Masaccio’s Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden

Masaccio’s fresco depicting Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden by an angel is located in the Brancacci Chapel inside the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence.  The fresco is part of a larger cycle he painted for part of the chapel, while another painter, …

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Titian’s Pesaro Madonna

Titian’s great altarpiece depicting the Virgin and Child is located in the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (otherwise known simply as the Frari) in Venice.  The painting shows both of these figures near the top of a stepped platform; the Virgin wears a beautifully-colored red robe covered with …

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