The Italian Renaissance Podcast

Art Historian Linda Reynolds joins me to discuss the history of the court of Duke Federico da Montefeltro. Ruling over Urbino, the Montefeltro court was among the most important centers in Renaissance Italy. Professor Reynolds first explains how a simple mercenary like Federico was able to rise to the status of Duke. From there, she dives into the Duke's patronage of the arts, looking primary at the architecture of his palace in Urbino and his painters, Piero della Francesca and Justus van Ghent. 
Works Discussed: 
Luciano Laurana, Palazzo Ducale, Urbino, second phase 1464-72 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_ducale_di_Urbino
The Ideal City, 1480's https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ideal_City_-_formerly_attributed_to_Luciano_Laurana_-_Galleria_Nazionale_delle_Marche,_Urbino
Piero della Francesca, Double Portrait of Duke Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza, 1473-75 https://www.uffizi.it/opere/i-duchi-di-urbino-federico-da-montefeltro-e-battista-sforza
Justus van Ghent, Portrait of Federico da Montefeltro with His Son Guidobaldo, ca. 1475 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Federico_da_Montefeltro_with_His_Son_Guidobaldo
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The Florentine Renaissance Course

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This episode examines how artistic influence and innovation intersect in the work of Perugino and Raphael, using their two Marriage of the Virgin paintings as a lens. It explores the defining qualities of Perugino’s calm, orderly style alongside Raphael’s more dynamic and spatially refined approach. Set against the cultural importance of the subject in Renaissance Perugia, the comparison reveals how shared compositions can yield very different visual experiences. Ultimately, the discussion highlights a pivotal artistic moment: the transformation of a master’s visual language into something more expressive, marking Raphael’s emergence as one of the most compelling and influential painters of the Renaissance. 
Works Discussed: 
Perugino, Marriage of the Virgin, 1500-1504 https://mba.caen.fr/en/oeuvre/le-mariage-de-la-vierge
Raphael, Marriage of the Virgin, 1504 https://pinacotecabrera.org/en/collezioni/collezione-on-line/the-marriage-of-the-virgin/
More on Perugino and Raphael in our online course: https://www.udemy.com/course/the-florentine-renaissance/?referralCode=FF28E9B6B8BB41DD78AF
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This episode explores how Perugia functioned as a dynamic center of Renaissance art and how Perugino emerged as its most influential painter. It considers the city’s political, religious, and economic structures as active forces shaping artistic production, while examining how workshop practices, patronage, and regional identity intersected with broader Florentine influences.
At the heart of the discussion is Perugino’s distinctive style—marked by clarity, harmony, and compositional balance—and the role his workshop played in spreading that visual language across central Italy. The episode ultimately frames Perugia not as a peripheral center, but as a key contributor to the artistic networks that helped define the transition toward the High Renaissance.
Works Discussed: 
Perugino, Adoration of the Magi, 1470's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adoration_of_the_Magi_(Perugino,_Perugia)
Perugino, Apollo and Daphnis, 1475-1500 https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010064934
Perugino, Decemviri Altarpiece, 1495/96 https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/la-pinacoteca/sala-vii---secolo-xv-xvi/perugino--la-madonna-col-bambino-e-i-ss--lorenzo--ludovico-di-to.html
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The Florentine Renaissance Course

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Michelangelo takes to the stage, and playwright and actor Justin Garascia joins us to discuss his dynamic reimagining of the early life of Michelangelo. Set in Renaissance Italy, MIKEY! unfolds as a gothic, queer fever dream, moving between the sculpting of David and the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. As Michelangelo reflects on the life that brought him to this moment, he wrestles with how he wants to be remembered — as a sculptor, not a painter.
Through a reimagined history, the play asks: what if there was a secret relationship at the House of Medici that shaped the artist’s emotional life and propelled the work we still revere over 500 years later?
Crowd Fund: https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/mikey-a-new-play/campaigns/f6cecfad-a8b2-4ca1-a00f-b50d6d6e053d
Show Dates:
Tue, May 19 at 7 PM
Tue, May 26 at 7 PM
Thu, May 28 at 7 PM
Sat, May 30 at 3 PM
Sun, May 31 at 7 PM
Tickets on Sale Now: https://thetanknyc.org/calendar-1/2026/5/19/mikey
Follow along: @mikeytheplay and @justingarascia (Instagram)
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The Sforza Altarpiece (Pala Sforzesca) is among the single most important works of art commissioned by Ludovico il Moro. Through this painting, we can trace both the heavy religious history of Milan and the dynastic ambitions of the Sforza court. By investigating this painting, we can further understand the atmosphere leading to the decline of Sforza power. 
Additionally, this painting shows the dramatic influence of the convergence of styles in Milan, from Leonardo da Vinci to the Flemish masters. With this comes the complicated attribution of the work, which until very recently, had remained unknown. 
Work Discussed: 
Giovanni Angelo Mirofoli (Master of the Sforza Altarpiece), Madonna Enthroned with Child, the Doctors of the Church and the Family of Ludovico il Moro (Sforza Altarpiece), 1495 
https://pinacotecabrera.org/collezioni/collezione-on-line/madonna-in-trono-con-il-bambino-i-dottori-della-chiesa-e-la-famiglia-di-ludovico-il-moro-pala-sforzesca/
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The Florentine Renaissance Course

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