Important Italian Artists Featured in Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty

The Renaissance, a period in Europe lasting from the 14th to 17th century, marked a time of extraordinary growth in the arts, science and mathematics. During this time, the city of Florence emerged as a cultural, prosperous mecca. Wealthy individuals became patrons, who in turn paid writers, artists and philosophers to pursue their crafts freely.

The three-part documentary series, Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty, explores the extraordinary lives and rivalries of three towering figures of the Italian Renaissance — Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael — whose timeless masterpieces were forged amid brutal political power struggles, warfare and religious upheaval. Framed through the eyes of an aging Michelangelo, portrayed by Charles Dance, whose long life spanned this extraordinary period, the series traces more than 60 years, beginning with the Pazzi Conspiracy of 1478 and concluding with the unveiling of The Last Judgement in 1541. 

Through stunning visuals, compelling storytelling and historical insight, the series reveals how these artists battled for favor, risked everything in service of their patrons and reshaped the world’s understanding of art and the artist.

Explore the artwork and legacies these artists below.

Episode Guide

Spoiler Alert: Click the dropdown to reveal each episode’s description.

Key Italian Renaissance Artists Featured in the Series

Read on below to discover the moments and creations that defined Michelangelo, Leonarda da Vinci and Raphael.

Michelangelo

Born Michele Agnolo di Lodovico Buonarroti in Florence on March 6, 1475, Michelangelo (played by Eddie Mann) is a Renaissance artist who leaves a lasting imprint in the fields of sculpture, painting and architecture. 

We meet Michelangelo in Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty as he is training under the Renaissance painter Domenico Ghirlandaio, and he demonstrates a strong affinity for the arts. As depicted in Episode 1, the young teenager’s talent catches the eye of Florence’s most prominent patron, Lorenzo de' Medici, who invites Michelangelo to stay with him in his family’s palace. The new living arrangement offers Michelangelo an opportunity to interact with some of the greatest intellectuals and thinkers of the time — many of whom will ultimately influence his own work. 

Viewers watch Michelangelo earn an early reputation for his competitive nature, a quality which makes it difficult for him to make friends. Nevertheless, his ambitious spirit helps fuel some of his best work, including his distinguished La Pietà (1499) sculpture in Rome. As a testament to his ambitious, ego-driven disposition, Michelangelo chisels, “This sculpture was created by Michelangelo of Florence” into the sash of La Pietà — an artistic move virtually unheard of at the time. Reportedly, he has heard someone claiming the sculpture as their own work. 

Throughout the series, Florence undergoes sporadic periods of political turmoil, forcing Michelangelo and other artists to flee the city. In 1501, however, he finally returns, along with his greatest rival, Leonardo da Vinci. During this time, Michelangelo creates one of his masterpieces: the colossal 17-foot statue of David.

In addition to Michelangelo’s mastery of the human form in his sculptures, viewers see his lasting legacy endure with his frescoes painted on the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel. He continues to create art through his later years, passing away at the age of 88.

Michelangelo's Notable Works

• Battles of the Centaurs (1492)
• Bacchus (1496 - 1497)
• La Pieta(1490 - 1499)
• David (1501 - 1504)
• The Sistine Chapel Ceiling (1512)
• The Last Judgement (1541)

Leonardo da Vinci

Portrayed as Michelangelo’s arch-rival in the series, Leonardo da Vinci (played by Jonny Glynn) is a polymath who ignites artistic and scientific advancements during the height of the Italian Renaissance.

Born on April 15, 1452, in a town outside of Florence, Leonardo starts as an apprentice in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, a talented sculptor, painter and goldsmith who has trained many of Florence’s most acclaimed artists. 

In Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty, viewers see Leonardo join a painter’s guild in 1472, creating works like the Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi, the latter of which Leonardo abandons before completing. 

Then, in 1482, he packs his bags and leaves for Milan, where he offers his services to Duke Ludovico Sforza. It is under Sforza’s reign that Leonardo produces some of his greatest artistic contributions, including Lady With An Ermine and The Last Supper.

However, by 1500, viewers watch France seize control over Milan, leading Leonardo and many of his contemporaries to look for refuge elsewhere. Upon his return to Florence, Leonardo becomes close to a new patron, Cesare Borgia — a military leader and the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI. Impressed by Leonardo’s undeniable skills, Borgia hires Leonardo as his chief military engineer and architect.

Finally, Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty introduces Leonardo’s most noteworthy legacy, his magnum opus — the Mona Lisa. Beginning his painting in 1503 and working on it until 1517, the Mona Lisa is the culmination of a lifetime spent observing nature and humanity. 

Leonardo dies at the age of 67. 

Leonardo da Vinci's Notable Works

• Lady With An Ermine (1491)
• The Last Supper (1495 - 1498)
• Burlington House Cartoon (1501 - 1503)
• Mona Lisa (1503 - 1517)

Discover more of Leonardo’s life and legacy in this timeline and in the film Leonardo da Vinci from acclaimed filmmakers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon. 

Raphael

Last but not least, Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty presents the young and ambitious Raphael as he enters the Florentine stage in the early 16th century, eager to prove his artistic capabilities. Born Raffaelo Sanzio and from the Italian town of Urbino, Raphael (played by Joshua Duffy) grows up immersed in the world of arts and culture, thanks in part to his own father, Giovanni Santi, who is also a painter.

Viewers watch Raphael arrive in Rome in 1508, a period that welcomes some of his most revered work. Pope Julius II, having taken an interest in the young artist, commissions Raphael to decorate the Vatican’s four papal apartments. Raphael’s frescoes, specifically The School of Athens, garner acclaim, and shortly afterward, Julius assigns his next project: a portrait of the Pope. 

Unfortunately, Raphael’s life is cut short at the tragic young age of 37. Despite the short amount of time he is alive, he manages to produce some of the most uncompromising, impressive works of the Renaissance — and was part of an epic artistic showdown. 

Raphael's Notable Works

• Disputation of the Holy Sacrament (1509 - 1510)
• The School of Athens (1510 - 1511)
• Pope Julius II (1511)
• Sister Chapel Tapestries (1515)

Other Notable Italian Renaissance Artists

While Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael are largely regarded as the most influential artists from the Renaissance, many other iconic individuals — Titian, Botticelli and Donatello to name a few — left a lasting mark on this period. 

Discover more in Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty, premiering July 8, 2025.