Surprising Art History

Johannes Vermeer, A Girl Asleep, 1656–1657, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Surprising Art History

Vermeer’s Desperate Housewives

Johannes Vermeer was a master of ambiguity. His silent and calm interiors, and beautiful Dutch women, although innocent at first glance, seem to be...

Magda Michalska 2 March 2023

Bizarre

Inkulinati – Medieval Manuscripts Come to Life in a New Video Game

If you’ve ever wanted to step inside a medieval manuscript, here’s your chance. Inkulinati, an incoming strategy-based video game, was inspired...

Alexandra Kiely 15 November 2022

Surprising Art History

How Would Superheroes Have Looked Like in the 17th Century?

The 17th century was a beautiful time full of people wearing ruffs. Huge, remarkable ruffs. Those ruffs stayed in my memory, like in Peter Paul...

Zuzanna Stańska 28 April 2022

meme-making Surprising Art History

Meme-Making: Dutch Medieval Illustrations Breathe a Memetic Life!

Do you think a meme is the millennial method of transmission of knowledge? You scroll no more than a few inches on any digital social media platform,...

Urvi Chheda 4 April 2022

Museum Stories

Pharmacy Museums: Houses of Oddities

A pharmacy is a very weird kind of shop. It has your favorite skin creams and food supplements. They also carry medicines for the flu, blood...

Marija Canjuga 19 February 2022

Literature

Nicole Tersigni Advises on Men to Avoid in Art and Life – An Interview

On her social media accounts, Nicole Tersigni fights toxic masculinity and gender discrimination with humor and irony, every day. But when she...

Arianna Richetti 30 June 2021

Art State of Mind

From Spindle and Distaff to Mass Production: Spinning in Art

There are many artistic representations of women spinning, created across time and in various places. Let’s take some of the great depictions for a...

Europeana 10 December 2020

Surprising Art History

An Animated Cabinet of Curiosities – The Best Art GIFs

What happens when old paintings, photos, illustrations and posters which are available digitally are shared with digital artists to play with and...

Europeana 26 October 2020

Bizarre

Danse Macabre: Dancing with Skeletons

Danse Macabre (Dance of Death) – a weird dance between people and skeletons. You might think that it is a scene from a horror movie. But...

Zuzanna Stańska 7 July 2020

History

Ivan VI of Russia: The Baby Emperor

Ivan VI of Russia (Ivan Antonovich) was the youngest Russian tsar in history. He was proclaimed emperor when only two months old, and his 22-year-old...

Guest Author 3 June 2020

Bizarre

Lowbrow Art, Subcultural Movement or Legitimate Art Generation?

Somewhere between the late 1960s and the 1970s, a new artistic movement emerged from the underground scene. At that time it didn’t have any...

Errika Gerakiti 21 April 2020

Artist Stories

It’s Not Always What It Seems: The Fabulous Inventions of Panamarenko

Panamarenko steals from science and uses it in his art. He has designed planes and submarines that at first sight are perfectly capable of...

Michel Rutten 12 June 2019