TUESDAYS, JULY 8-22 at 8:00PM

Some of the greatest works of art in Western civilization were created during one of the bloodiest chapters in European history. RENAISSANCE: THE BLOOD AND THE BEAUTY, a new three-part documentary series premiering this week, 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, whose long life spanned this extraordinary period, the series traces more than sixty 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.

Episode 1: “Rise” – Tuesday, July 8
Michelangelo and Leonardo struggle to win work in the brutal world of Renaissance Italy, navigating the shifting politics of powerful patrons and violent city-states. In Florence, young Michelangelo rises under the Medici's patronage while Leonardo builds his reputation in Milan. Political upheaval and changing attitudes disrupt their careers and set the stage for an artistic rivalry.

Episode 2: “Rivalry” – Tuesday, July 15
Florence becomes a hotbed of creative competition as Michelangelo and Leonardo return to the city and battle for artistic supremacy. When Michelangelo is awarded the commission for David, Leonardo seeks to outshine him with technical innovation, but the arrival of the young prodigy Raphael threatens both men. Their careers collide in Rome under Pope Julius II’s patronage, igniting an epic artistic showdown.

Episode 3: “Redemption” – Tuesday, July 22
While Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Raphael ascends in the Pope’s favor while working on his private apartments. But shortly after the completion of the Sistine ceiling, the Pope dies, and as the Protestant Reformation tears through Europe, art becomes a battleground for ideology and power. As the new Pope, Pope Leo X, seeks to reassert Catholic supremacy, Michelangelo is commissioned for a depiction of The Last Judgement, which will become both a political statement and a very personal expression of Michelangelo’s own spiritual redemption.