As I’ve traveled the country talking about my art historical novels about Italian Renaissance masters Oil and Marble (about Michelangelo and Leonardo) and Raphael, Painter in Rome (#commissionsearned), many people have asked where they can see great Renaissance art without traveling to Italy. Well first, go to Italy. It’s worth it. But in the meantime (while you’re saving money and planning your trip to the peninsula), here are my suggestions for the top collections of Italian Renaissance art right here on American soil.
National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC
The National Gallery holds the only Leonardo da Vinci painting in the United States; that alone makes the NGA worthy of this list (I love this portrait; Ginevra de’ Benci seems to be part of the Juniper growing behind her; where does she end and nature begin??). Besides the Leonardo portrait, the NGA also boasts works by Raphael, Titian and Fra Angelico to name just a few Italian Renaissance masters. Go for the Leonardo, stay for the galleries of glories.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
The Met is home to paintings by Raphael, a Cupid marble statue by Michelangelo and drawings by all the Renaissance triumvirate, Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo. With those three giants all under one roof, this museum will satiate any art-lover’s thirst for the Renaissance. While there, you can also catch works by Donatello, Fra Fillipo Lippi, and Botticelli. If you need a brush with Renaissance greatness to inspire you, the Met is a must.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston
With a Raphael Room, Veronese Room and Titian Room (featuring Titian’s Europa, one of my personal favorite paintings of all times), the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has a brilliant collection of Italian Renaissance masters — including a drawing Michelangelo made for his beloved friend, the lady Vittoria Colonna when he was in his 60s. All of this housed in a 15th-century Venetian-style palazzo that will make you feel like you have flown all the way to Italy.
Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas
The Kimbell boasts the only Michelangelo painting in the United States; art historians say it’s his first painting — a copy of the fifteenth-century German master Martin Schongauer. He made it when he was just 12 or 13-year-old and still an apprentice in Domenico Ghirlandaio’s studio. This rare Michelangelo secures the Kimbell’s place on this list, but their collection is also home to works by Donatello, Titian, Fra Angelico, Mantegna, Bellini, making this a true find of Renaissance rarities.
Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California
I may be biased — the Norton Simon is one of my favorite museums in the entire world — but I think this is the sweetest Italian Renaissance collection in the country. It’s small, but truly beautiful. There are pieces by Botticelli, Bellini, Giorgione, Donatello… And this Madonna and Child; Raphael was still young when he painted it — just 20 years old — and I love feeling the painter’s youth and promise in this gentle mother-son moment.
Detroit Institute of Arts
I adore this Veronese, held by the DIA, with those baby angels getting tied up in the red silk drapery up above… But it’s not only the Veronese that puts this museum on my list. Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Titian, Bellini, Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Correggio, Parmigianino, Bronzino… The list of Renaissance masters at the DIA goes on and on.
MFA in Boston
The Boston collection centers around this triptych by the master painter Duccio (who helped usher in the Renaissance in the 14th century) and the Madonna of the Clouds relief by the Florentine sculptor Donatello (okay, it’s official. With that, I have officially referenced all four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in this post). The rest of the collection, which includes blue and white terra-cotta by the della Robbia family, will give you a real sense of what it felt like to live in Italy during the Renaissance era.
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago may be better known for its Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, but I love their Italian Renaissance collection. In Chicago you can see Botticellis, Titians, Tintorettos, Sartos, and Veroneses… The Botticelli pictured here — my favorite in Chicago — may not be the master’s most famous work, but it is a lovely example of the grace and love that permeates all of his works.
Cleveland Museum of Art
Fra Angelico, Veronese, Sarto, Tiepolo, Fra Filippo Lippi… plus a drawing of the Prophet Daniel (a study for the Sistine Ceiling) by Michelangelo. This Ohio Museum has a beautiful and varied collection of early to late Renaissance paintings and drawings. If you’re in Ohio, but have a longing for Italy, this museum in Cleveland may just satiate your need until you can take a trip to Europe.
Getty Museum in Los Angeles
With paintings by Italian Renaissance masters Titian, Veronese, Fra Angelico, Masaccio, and scores of others, the Getty has always had a world class Renaissance collection. But in 2017 they added a $100 million trove of new pieces to their collection, including drawings by Michelangelo, making this easily one of the best Italian Renaissance collections in the country.