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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