The crashing waves roar with a deafening thunder, and the foamy spray flies with a quickening speed. Great gusts of wind blow the waters over the rocks and over the sea shore. A storm of monstrous size lands...

The subject of erotica is vast. Even reduced to only the Victorian world of erotica, it’s a challenge to write about in the space of an article. Really, it’s more the stuff of a book, and indeed many...

Each piece of jewelry in Rossetti’s paintings worn by his models wasn’t invented but copied from actual accessories from the artist’s collection. Pieces were carefully selected to complement the garment, color, and other aesthetic features of the painting....

Love them or loathe them, tattoos are a global phenomenon. Inserting pigment under the skin for decorative or ritualistic purposes has been around since prehistoric times. Tattooing is a close relative of scarification and piercing, and examples exist...

Symbolism developed in the 19th century, it began as a literary movement but quickly moved into other art forms. Symbolist painters rejected the advent of new technologies, scientific thought, and naturalism. Instead, they favored thoughts and feelings. Given...

In 1879, Frederic Leighton’s biographer and neighbor (that’s handy, isn’t it?), Mrs. Barrington, noticed “a young girl with a lovely white face, dressed in deepest black, evidently a model.” This girl was actress Dorothy Dene, a muse, and...

Shakespeare once wrote, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” For monarchs throughout history, the importance of their name went hand-in-hand with their image. How did one...