New book added to the Reading Room
August 10, 2026
A Step Further Back: Discovering Petrarch
One of the things I wanted to do with The Renaissance Blueprint was to occasionally step further back in time - to look beyond the great artists and masterpieces and try to understand some of the ideas and individuals that helped create the spirit of the Renaissance in the first place. I had read that Petrarch is sometimes described as the “Father of the Renaissance,” and that description made me curious.
What exactly had he done to earn such an extraordinary title? And how did a fourteenth-century poet and scholar help lay the intellectual foundations for what would become the Renaissance? Christopher Celenza’s Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer seemed like an ideal place to start. It is an accessible introduction to Petrarch's life and ideas, and, more importantly, it helped me understand why the Renaissance was about much more than a renewed interest in beautiful art—it was also about a profound change in the way people thought about the past, learning and themselves.
New book added to the Reading Room
August 1, 2026
I have added a review of a new book by one of my favourite art historians, William E. Wallace. In Michelangelo & Titian: A Tale of Rivalry & Genius, Wallace makes a compelling case that the relationship between these two Renaissance giants was not simply one of Michelangelo influencing Titian. Instead, he shows that the influence flowed in both directions.
What I found most thought-provoking is Wallace's argument that Michelangelo—often portrayed as the untouchable artistic ideal—was also inspired and challenged by encounters with Titian's work. Rather than seeing Michelangelo as the sole benchmark against whom every other artist was measured, the book reveals a more dynamic and human story of artistic exchange. It reminds us that even the greatest masters learned from one another, borrowing ideas, responding to innovation, and continually refining their own vision.
For anyone interested in understanding how artistic ideas evolved during the Renaissance, this is a fascinating and rewarding read.
New books added to the Reading Room
July 27, 2026
I have added two books to the Reading Room: Renaissance by Andrew Graham‑Dixon, a vivid and accessible survey of the period’s art and culture, and Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age by Ada Palmer, a thought‑provoking and meticulously argued study that challenges many common assumptions about how to interpret the era.
