#italy

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 29 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Solar Eclipse in Venice by Ippolito Caffi

Ippolito Caffi was a gifted vedutista – painter of highly detailed cityscapes – renowned for his meticulous depictions of Venice‘s...

Maya M. Tola 27 February 2024

History

How Galileo Galilei Changed the Moon Forever

While our old pal, the Moon, was always shining above us; it wasn’t always obvious how does it really look like. For a long time, this astronomical...

Marta Wiktoria Bryll 27 February 2024

Renaissance

Carlo Crivelli – Enigmatic Renaissance Trickster

We know very little about the life of Carlo Crivelli. The basics of life and death, and little else. We do have a collection of awe-inspiring works,...

Candy Bedworth 26 February 2024

Still from The White Lotus, Fabio Lovino/HBO. Theater & Cinema

Discover Sicilian Art with The White Lotus Season 2

Season two of The White Lotus on HBO Max has gained much press recently about its filming location in Sicily, Italy. Through interviews with the cast...

Anna Ingram 23 February 2024

Art History 101

Arte Povera: Aesthetics of the Ordinary

In memory of the world-famous Italian art critic Germano Celant, who himself in 1967 invented the term Arte Povera, translated as “Poor Art”, we...

Caroline Galambosova 12 February 2024

Renaissance

Visit Astonishing Halls of Maps and Globes

Cartography is the production of geographical maps and globes. It has evolved both as a science and as an art. This is why powerful people love...

Camilla de Laurentis 12 February 2024

Ramesses II, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, 1279–1254 BCE, granodiorite, Temple of Amun, Karnak Temple Complex, Thebes (Luxor), Egypt, Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ramesses II

The statue of Ramesses II is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian sculpture that proclaims the royal majesty and prowess of Ramesses the...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

michelangelo Bacchus: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Bacchus, ca. 1496-1497, Bargello National Museum, Florence, Italy. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Bacchus by Michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, known as Michelangelo, is undoubtedly among the world’s most treasured artists. His connection to...

Maya M. Tola 11 February 2024

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 30 January 2024

Baroque

Caravaggisti: Fans, Epigons, Masters?

Caravaggio made an impact on painting even during his lifetime. This was probably because he acted in defiance of all the norms of the Catholic...

Magda Michalska 30 January 2024

Academic Art

Six of the World’s Most Famous Art Academies

Have you ever wondered where the world’s most famous artists went to school? Many studied at one (or more) of these six art academies. The schools...

Alexandra Kiely 24 January 2024