History

Music

Farinelli – The Best Castrato In Portraits

What does “castrato” mean? Castrati were male singers who had been castrated before puberty to retain the so-called voce bianca, that is...

Magda Michalska 26 June 2023

Nicaise de Keyser, William II (1792-1849), King of the Netherlands, when Prince of Orange, 1846, Royal Collection, UK. History

Willem II: The Queer King of the Netherlands

Willem II ruled the Netherlands from 1840 to 1849. In modern terms he would be considered a bisexual man, as he had relationships with both women and...

Jimena Escoto 14 June 2023

Ancient Rome

The Portrait of Rome’s Decline: Bust of Decius

The turmoil of Rome’s decline in the 3rd century enclosed the 21-month reign of Decius. His tenure as emperor was not exceptionally short for the...

Guest Profile 11 June 2023

Art History 101

What Is Queer Art? Haring, Hockney, and Many More!

The complexity and significance of queer art cannot be fully encapsulated within a single article. Its exploration permeates college courses, public...

Rachel Witte 2 June 2023

History

Diego Rivera: The Controversial Story of Man at the Crossroads

At the suggestion of his mother, Nelson Rockefeller commissioned Diego Rivera, a passionate Mexican socialist artist, to paint the mural that was...

Ruxi Rusu 29 May 2023

Granit Sculpture of Colossus representing Ramses Ancient Egypt

Ramses the Great: A Pharaoh in Paris

After the United States, and before Australia, France has been, since April 7, the only European country to host a large-scale exhibition around the...

Montaine Dumont 25 May 2023

Erotica

Venus Vincit Omnia: Venus in Art

Venus (also known by her Greek name Aphrodite) is the goddess of love. We’ve explored some famous Venuses here. Furthermore, Velázquez’s...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 2 May 2023

Fashion

What Was It Like in the Roaring Twenties in Art and Fashion?

The Roaring Twenties was a period when many things changed – both socially and politically. The dramatic economic growth of the decade led many...

Pola Otterstein 28 April 2023

Museum Stories

Vase of Flowers: The WWII Theft of a Dutch Still Life

What happens to artworks and cultural treasures as a nation prepares for war? In the case of Jan van Huysum’s Vase of Flowers, the Dutch still...

Natalia Iacobelli 17 April 2023

Painting

A Tribute to Medical Services: Doctors in Paintings

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have heard a lot about doctors and healthcare workers, thinking of them as present-day heroes facing up to death.

Camilla de Laurentis 7 April 2023

Jacob Peter Gowy, The Fall of Icarus, 1635-1637, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. Detail. Baroque

The Fall of Icarus: Drama in Baroque Painting

Imagine you’re standing in front of a painting that tells the tragic story of Icarus falling from the sky. The artist’s task was not only...

Lana Pajdas 11 March 2023

Academic Art

The Naked Truth About Nudes in Academic Art

Academicism was the dominant style in European art in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was called so because it was dictated by the French Academy of...

Magda Michalska 21 February 2023