Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks

In April of 1483, the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception commissioned Leonardo to paint the Virgin of the Rocks as part of an altarpiece for its chapel in the church of San Francesco Grande in Milan.   The painting was done on a wooden panel which was meant to be placed …

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Donatello’s St. George

Donatello carved his statue of St. George for the guild of armorers and swordmakers in Florence.  Like the statue of St. Mark, the statue of St. George was destined for the guild’s niche in the building of Orsanmichele.  Because the guild was of average size, it could only afford a …

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Bellini’s San Zaccaria Altarpiece

Giovanni Bellini was one of the greatest Venetian painters of the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries, and he made a name for himself primarily through the production of religious devotional images and altarpieces.  He painted a vast number of images of the Virgin and Child, of which over sixty survive to …

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