
Angels
Artists have imagined angels as divine winged figures, painting them in Christian scenes since the Byzantine period. We see angels delivering messages, floating in space, and playing music.
Explore more

Interactive Article: Stories and Symbols in Jan van Eyck’s "The Annunciation"
The work is a triumph of early Northern Renaissance painting—and storytelling.

Video: Masterful Restoration: Bringing Life Back to a 500-Year-Old School of Perugino Painting
Watch as our skilled conservator revives this 16th-century School of Perugino painting.
You may also like

Italian Renaissance
The Renaissance, or rebirth, was the cultural flowering in Italy from about 1400 to 1600. Using Ancient Greece and Rome as models, artists, writers, and thinkers studied the natural world, admiring the human body and mind. Florence, a center of craftsmanship, trade, and banking, led Italian cities, generating broad demand for art for churches and homes.

Painting
Since ancient times, artists have made paintings to tell stories or capture beauty. They’ve used egg tempera, oil, and more recently acrylic to create compositions of all shapes and sizes. The results include radiant altarpieces, striking portraits, luminous landscapes, and abstract expressions.