Florence and Rome were among the most vibrant cultural centres of 16th-century Europe. In both cities, Michelangelo and Raphael created works still considered among the most significant in Western European art.
Artists flocked to Rome, drawn by the city’s Antique past and to seek papal patronage. Popes Julius II (from 1503 to 1513) and Leo X (from 1513 to 1521) were keenly aware of art’s power to communicate the Catholic Church’s spiritual and political dominance. Monumental projects such as the rebuilding of Saint Peter’s Basilica, Raphael's frescoes (mural paintings on fresh plaster) for the Vatican apartments, and Michelangelo’s ceiling for the Sistine Chapel, affirmed the status of Rome as caput mundi, Latin for 'capital of the world'. After Raphael’s death in 1520, Sebastiano del Piombo became the city’s leading painter.
In Florence, the first half of the century was marked by unrest as the Medici (Florence’s leading family) and defenders of the Republic tussled for power. Against this backdrop, Andrea del Sarto and his workshop had a lasting influence on generations of artists, with his elegant compositions and vibrant use of colour. After the Medici secured governance of Florence in 1530, Bronzino became their principal artist. His pristine, highly refined style defined the elegant imagery of the court of Cosimo I (1519–1574), the first Grand Duke of Tuscany.
