Workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni

This was the 15th-century Florence studio where a team of painters cranked out story-rich panels night and day. They cranked out history like a factory line, dragons, battles, Roman senators, all in tiny brushes and gold leaf. One of their triple-decker panels shows Julius Caesar on the floor with daggers in him and his friends carrying the body off; notice how the blood drips in a perfect little river across the marble.

When you see it, you’ll know why this workshop put Florence on the map for “look how much stuff we can cram in one frame.”