#italy

Woman with Stylus, 55-79 CE Ancient Rome

Woman with Stylus: What a Portrait Can Tell Us About Women in Ancient Rome

Woman with Stylus is an ancient Roman fresco unearthed in Pompeii nearly two millennia after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. Various details...

Natalia Iacobelli 9 April 2026

Bizarre

The Curious Lure and Strange Beauty of Ancient Anatomical Votives

Eerie, mysterious, and fascinating, ancient anatomical votives represent literal parts of people’s past. When most people think of a votive object,...

Marga Patterson 7 April 2026

Artist Stories

Too Much Love Will Kill You—The Death of Raphael

Raphael Sanzio, one of the greatest Renaissance painters, died on Good Friday in 1520. He was only 37 years old and at the peak of his artistic...

Zuzanna Stańska 6 April 2026

venetian painting of Veronese depicting wedding at cana, Louvre museum Painting

Venetian Art in 10 Paintings: A Journey Through Color and Light

Venice has always been more than canals and carnival masks—it’s a city that helped shape the course of European art. From the Byzantine...

Alessia Caldana 6 April 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Is This Unicorn a Dog? Uncovering the Mysteries of Raphael’s Masterpiece

Portrait of a Young Woman with Unicorn by Raphael is one of the gems from the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Long misattributed and repainted, this...

Ela Bobek 6 April 2026

History

The Story of Raphael’s Lost Portrait of a Young Man

Have you ever seen this painting? It is currently missing; in fact, it has been missing since 1945. Let’s explore the story of one of the most...

Zuzanna Stańska 6 April 2026

Renaissance

Raphael—Renaissance Prince of Painters

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, in English known as Raphael, is famous for the harmony and clarity of form within his visually brilliant paintings. He...

Candy Bedworth 6 April 2026

Baroque

The Veiled Christ: Art or Alchemy?

In the nave of the Sansevero Chapel in Naples there is a unique sculpture depicting Jesus after the crucifixion. His body is covered with a thin...

Rachel Istvan 5 April 2026

Sculpture

Masterpiece Story: Penitent Mary Magdalene by Donatello

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello, was a sculptor born around 1386 in Florence, which is also the city in which he died in...

Soledad Castillo Jara 5 April 2026

Architecture

The Most Beautiful Anatomical Theaters in Italy

Anatomical theaters were one of the most important institutions in the history of medicine. They were used for teaching anatomy classes at...

Zuzanna Stańska 27 March 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola by Anthony van Dyck

Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) was a Flemish painter from Antwerp. Between 1621 and 1627, he worked in Italy, mainly in Genoa, studying the great...

Soledad Castillo Jara 19 March 2026

Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait Painting the Madonna, 1556, 66 x 57 cm, Lancut Museum, Poland. ArtStor digital library. Women Artists

Sofonisba Anguissola: The Life of a Rule-Breaker Painter

During the Italian Renaissance, women artists did not have the same access to artistic education as men. Sofonisba Anguissola, however, was very...

Nina Relf 19 March 2026