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The François Vase

The François Vase is a large Attic volute krater decorated in the black-figure style.
A real masterpiece of ancient pottery and the epitome of black-figure painting, the François Vase can be considered a landmark in the study of Greek pottery as it marks a turning point in the art’s development, constituting a great advance in Athenian pottery and painting styles.

The Last Judgement by Alun Salt

The Last Judgement by Michelangelo

The Last Judgement is the name of the fresco located on the wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

It was designed and realized by the Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1533 and 1541.

It depicts the Second Coming of Christ as well as the final and eternal Judgement by God on all humanity according to the Christian religion. Altogether there are over 300 figures, with nearly all the males and angels originally shown as nudes.

Francesco Botticini_The Assumption of the Virgin

Botticini’s Palmieri Altarpiece and the exhibit at London’s National Gallery

Botticini‘s vast altarpiece “Assumption of the Virgin” is a painting undertaken in tempera on a wood panel by the Early Renaissance Italian painter Francesco Botticini. It was originally installed in the church of San Pier Maggiore in Florence in 1477. The altarpiece remained there until 1784, when the church was demolished. It was then purchased by the National Gallery in the 1880s, but hasn’t been put on display for many years. During the past months, it has been the subject of the exhibition “Visions of Paradise: Botticini’s Palmieri Altarpiece” at London’s National Gallery

The Painting La Commedia illumina Firenze

La commedia illumina Firenze by Domenico di Michelino

Domenico di Michelino was an Italian painter who was born and died in Florence (1417–1491). His most famous work, La commedia illumina Firenze (The Comedy Illuminating Florence), can be found in Florence’s Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Robert Langdon, the main character in Dan Brown’s Inferno, describes this famous painting during the conference “Divine Dante: Symbols of Hell,” hosted by the Società Dante Alighieri Vienna.