The Russian empress Catherine the Great aspired to Enlightenment ideas that propagate human intellectual power. Numerous tracts, essays, and books of French philosophers formed an image of a perfect state and society in Catherine’s mind. Thus, the empress...

How to look great? That is the question! Let’s refer to the most splendid and opulent period of history: the 18th century. The Enlightenment era was likely the first feminist wave because of the powerful women who came...

Joseph Wright of Derby is deemed as the first painter to capture the spirit of the Industrial Revolution. His paintings portray the zeitgeist of his time during the Age of Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a shift in philosophical...

The soft rustle of silky cloth and the hard crackling of burning wood echo against the yellow papered walls of the boudoir. The small room is overflowing with sensual delights as two women perform a daily routine of...

Elisabeth of Russia (1709-1761) was the most beautiful empress from the Romanov dynasty. Contemporaries called her “the sparkle of Peter the Great” as she was his daughter, and Elisabeth Petrovna did her best to associate her reign with...

An unassuming and charming statue group, the Prinzessinnengruppe (Princess Group) 1795-1797, depicting Prussian Princesses Louise and Frederike, by Johann Gottfried Schadow is filled with a fascinating history. Marveled during its day, it was hidden away and forgotten for...

The Frick Collection has an amazing ensemble of European masters. For example, works by Vermeer, Fragonard, and Goya grace its walls. Every room has its showpiece, and every showpiece has its story. Grace Dalrymple Elliott by Thomas Gainsborough...