Menarini and Art: tradition and innovation

Art monographs, specialist magazines dedicated to the great masters and more. Today, with ‘Pills of Art’, Menarini enters the city’s museums to reveal some of the curious facts on the works of the most well-known Renaissance painters. An initiative which confirms the company’s affiliation with art, a close connection which has led them to publish, each year and for more than six decades, an art monograph dedicated to the great masters of artistic beauty: a tradition which dates back to 1956 and which has continue and evolved over time, right up to today.
In this section, through a series of short videos, we shall take a trip through the history of our art publications, sharing anecdotes on some of the most famous works which have been, or shall become, the topic of volumes to come. Our exceptional guide on this ‘adventure’ will be the Director of the Uffizi Galleries, Eike Schmidt.

La Prudenza by Pollaiolo

This panel was commissioned to Pollaiolo in 1469 by the Court of Merchandise. Prudence is the virtue capable of choosing good and acting wisely. Important quality for resolving disputes. Discover with us the meaning of the mirror, the snake and many other details. Pollaiolo 1469-1472.

La Prudenza by Pollaiolo

This panel was commissioned to Pollaiolo in 1469 by the Court of Merchandise. Prudence is the virtue capable of choosing good and acting wisely. Important quality for resolving disputes. Discover with us the meaning of the mirror, the snake and many other details. Pollaiolo 1469-1472.

The Female Nude by Giorgione

Admire with us this extraordinary work by Giorgione "La Nuda". It speaks to us of a new painting, of soft colors, of shades and of monumentally binding the figure to tell us about a new sculptoriness. Now the whole world is ready for a new language, from which Titian and all modern evolution will start. Giorgione about 1508.

Bacchus by Caravaggio

At the beginning of his Roman stay, Caravaggio painted this emblematic canvas. Very attentive to all the details, such as the hand, which offers the glass of wine, it is not safe, indeed, you can notice the vibrations. A hint of drunkenness. Admire this masterpiece with us. Caravaggio 1595 - 1596.

Guido Baldo da Montefeltro by Raffaello

The painting arrived in Florence in 1631, today critics have finally established that the painting was executed by the hand of Raphael. He painted this portrait around 1506, on the occasion of his stay in Urbino, the birthplace of the Duke. - To portray him he chooses a frontal position, his face pale, enhanced by his clothes. Admire with us this wonderful work of the young Raphael.

Portrait of Agnolo Doni by Raffaello

Agnolo Doni, a wealthy cloth merchant, charges Raphael to portray him and his wife Maddalena Strozzi. There are many details, testifying to his status as a rich bourgeois. Watch this masterpiece with us, where every detail is put in the right place. Raphael 1505 - 1506.

Flora by Tiziano

This painting came from Vienna and became very popular after arriving at the Uffizi Gallery. This woman has auburn hair, hence the word Titian red. Note that the open hand with the number 2 indicates the union of one body with another. Discover the details of this wonderful painting. Titian 1515-1517

Elisabetta Gonzaga by Raffaello
Elisabetta Gonzaga Duchess of Urbino was from Mantova, and was known as the most cultured and refined woman in the European courts of the Renaissance. She is depicted in this extraordinary portrait by Raphael, before her arrival in Florence and her encounter with the art of Leonardo da Vinci.

The Virgin and child with Saints by Giorgione
In this small picture the perfect harmony between man and nature emerges. Giorgione in just 10 years manages to change the pictorial model. This painting is a true masterpiece, we have the Madonna with the child, we have Saint Catherine of Alexandria with the wheel of martyrdom. It is an image of colors, shades and color saturation, which becomes a real novelty. Giorgione about 1505.

Pallas and the Centaurus by Botticelli
This canvas is thought to have been commissioned by Lorenzo the Magnificent. The expressions of the protagonists are curious. The head of the Goddess is wrapped in a garland. Check out the white robe sprinkled with intertwined diamond rings. Discover with us the various mythological hypotheses of this work by Botticelli executed in 1482.

Menarini Pills of Art: Calumny by Botticelli
This painting is a quote from a work by a painter from ancient Greece Apelles. Look at the scene from right to left. On the throne King Midas unmistakable for his donkey ears. They mean that he is not a good judge, because he listens to suggestions of ignorance and suspicion. This painting is full of anecdotes. Botticelli 1495.

St. Jerome in the desert by Bellini
Bellini creates an ever softer fusion between the figures present in the scene and the surrounding environment, giving relevance not to color, but to the tone of the color. Saint Jerome is represented as a hermit, reading a reference to his production of the vulgate, the first complete translation of the Bible into Latin. Discover this picture full of allegories, animals, in perfect harmony with each other. Bellini 1480.

Portrait of Maddalena Strozzi by Raffaello
Agnolo Doni commissioned Raphael to paint his portrait and that of his wife Maddalena. The pose is very similar to Leonardo's Mona Lisa, but without that sense of mystery. The painter describes in detail the fabrics and jewels. Especially the necklace. Discover with us the meaning of precious stones. Raphael 1505 - 1506.

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