Michelangelo served as a stellar example for future artists who sought status and economic independence.
Anthony Majanlahti
Anthony Majanlahti is the author of the bestseller The Families who Made Rome: a history and a guide and other books about Rome. He is currently writing a single-volume urban history of Rome from its foundation to the present day, for the Oxford University Press. Follow him on Instagram @majanlahti_anthony
Posted inArt
Is Rome’s House of Michelangelo the Real Deal?
A facade is all that remains of the fabled home of the Renaissance artist but the story around it raises more questions than it answers.
Posted inArt
A Dazzling Corrective to the White-washing of Ancient Rome
Focused on mosaics, the only technique whose color doesn’t fade over time, Colors of the Romans helps audiences look at the ancient society as those living then would have seen it.
Posted inArt
In Rome, a Street Named Propaganda
The street with Francesco Borromini’s marvelous façade is called Via di Propaganda; learning its history reveals the complex relationship between art and indoctrination.
Posted inArt
A History of Disease, Faith, and Recovery in Rome
What happens when an epidemic strikes and that profoundly human urge to kiss and touch items thought to be sacred becomes part of the problem?
Posted inArt
The Layers of History Behind Raphael’s Tapestries at the Sistine Chapel
Standing in the chapel last week, I had the feeling that I was seeing something I would never see again: the Sistine Chapel not just as a complete work of art, but as a complete cultural artifact, restored to its Renaissance appearance for a fleeting moment.