The Church and the Baroque
The patronage of the Roman Catholic Church was fundamental to the Baroque style. Promoted by generations of popes, …
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Italian Renaissance villas and gardens
In the 14th century, the Italian villa was a large country house, often fortified, that stood at the heart of an ag…
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Design for a vaulted ceiling, by Vincenzo Brenna, about 1775
This highly finished and elegantly drawn design was executed by the Italian architect, interior decorator and decor…
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British watercolours 1750-1900: developing subjects for landscape painting
From the middle of the 18th century a number of British writers sought to define and categorise human responses to …
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A-Z of Ceramics - M is for Maiolica / Majolica
The term 'maiolica' was used in 15th-century Italy for lustrewares imported from Spain. It is usually said that the name derives from Majorca, an island that played an important part in this trade. But it has recently been argued that the name derives from 'obra de Mallequa', the term for lustred made in Valencia under the influence of Moorish craftsmen from Malaga.
Baroque palaces
The mid-17th century saw the start of a 100-year-long surge of palace-building unmatched before or since. All over Europe, absolutist regimes, from Russia to Portugal, built or renovated palaces as their main centres of power.
Chants from a choirbook from Florence
The two sung prayers you can listen to here are modern recordings of pieces contained in a large, elegantly illustrated, choirbook in the V&A's collections. The choirbook was made around 1380, probably in Florence, for the Camaldolese Order.
Cosimo I de' Medici: Renaissance patron
Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519–74) was Duke of Florence between 1537 and his death. The de’ Medicis were renowned for their patronage of the arts, and Cosimo I continued this tradition, supporting artists such as the painter, architect and biographer, Giorgio Vasari. You can listen to a description of a tapestry designed by Vasari for Cosimo I and listen to a madrigal composed by Francesco Corteccia and dedicated by him to Cosimo.
The Ascension Relief by Donatello, 1428-30
Donatello is regarded as one of the greatest sculptors of the 1400s and this marble panel is one of the finest surviving examples of his innovative work in extremely low relief. You can listen to a description of the panel, and learn more about the life of Donatello in a second audio.
A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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Bocca: Cookbook (Signed)
Signed copy of Jacob Kenedy's thrilling, exotic journey through the true flavours of Italy.
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