#italy

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Judith Slaying Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1656) was the most accomplished female painter of the Italian Baroque. She specialized in Biblical scenes of strong...

James W Singer 8 July 2023

History

Gian Gastone de’ Medici: The Forgotten Queer Legacy of the Last Medici

The Medici Family. For most, these three words conjure up images of Cosimo de’ Medici, Lorenzo de’ Medici, or the many artists and artworks...

Guest Profile 6 July 2023

Theater & Cinema

Postwar Modernism in Cinema: Italian Neorealism

World War II ravaged everything in its path. The global economy was ruined, and many cities were completely destroyed, not to mention the number of...

Errika Gerakiti 3 July 2023

Love Story

A Capri Romance: John Singer Sargent and Rosina Ferarra

We are all dreaming of summer holidays, long walks along beaches, toes in the sand, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Perhaps...

Charlotte Stace 1 July 2023

Baroque

Caravaggio in 10 Paintings

Caravaggio is one of the best-known Italian Baroque painters of his time. Seen through his characteristically naturalistic style, his paintings...

Anna Ingram 24 June 2023

Cristiano Banti, Portrait of Alaide. European Art

Rediscovering the Macchiaioli: Italy’s Revolutionary Impressionists

You’ve heard of the larger-than-life Impressionists who captivated Europe and the world at large with their dazzling light and color. But what...

Natalia Iacobelli 20 June 2023

Impressionism

Painting Bordighera: From Monet’s Canvases to Call Me By Your Name

Italy experienced a significant cinematic milestone when it was selected as the backdrop for the film Call Me By Your Name (2017, dir. Luca...

Helena Pereira 15 June 2023

Rococo

Everything You Need to Know About Venetian Rococo

Venetian Rococo played an important role in the 18th-century European art. Rococo covers the period from 1700 to 1799, also called settecento. Many...

Kateryna Martynova 14 June 2023

Rosalba Carriera, The Allegory of Music, 1712 Bavarian National Museum, Munich, Germany. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Rococo

Rosalba Carriera: The Accomplished Pastellist

Do you know the great Rococo portraitist Rosalba Carriera? She was one of the most famous painters of the early 18th century. Carriera became known...

Maia Heguiaphal 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

Renaissance

Masterpiece Story: The Calumny of Apelles by Sandro Botticelli

Botticelli’s final painting with a mythological subject is based on a lost painting by an ancient Greek painter Apelles. He ventured to...

Magda Michalska 11 June 2023

Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire, Destruction, 1836, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Ancient Rome

Painting the Fall of the Roman Empire

After many centuries, we are still wondering why the Roman Empire disappeared. Many theories try to explain it: wars, ideological problems, a chaotic...

Celia Leiva Otto 11 June 2023