Donal Cooper is a lecturer in Italian Renaissance art and a fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge

The Renaissance patrons who were no saints in religious paintings

This exhibition in Los Angeles considers how Forti challenged the boundaries between visual art and dance

6 Jan 2023
Apparition of the Crucifixes of Mount Ararat in the Church of Sant’Antonio di Castello,

In Renaissance Italy, the making of altarpieces was an amazingly exacting affair

In this hugely ambitious survey, David Ekserdjian encourages us to see some of the most remarkable artworks of their time with fresh eyes

18 Feb 2022
The Mocking of Christ (detail; c. 1280), Cimabue.

A long-lost Cimabue has emerged – and the ‘first light’ of painting now burns brighter than ever

The chance discovery in a kitchen in France has major significance for scholarship on the Florentine master

14 Oct 2019
The Circumcision (c. 1500), Giovanni Bellini. National Gallery, London

Part of the fabric – draped cloth and diaphanous veils in Renaissance art

How Italian painters and sculptors made clothing conceal and reveal the human form

1 Mar 2019

Are there too many Renaissance exhibitions?

Exhibitions about the Italian Renaissance have never been more popular, but is the difficulty of securing loans leading to some very diffuse shows?

27 Apr 2016