#Propaganda

Renaissance

The Medici Dynasty. Rich Sinners or Saintly Rulers?

The Medici family was definitely one of the richest dynasties in Renaissance Italy and perhaps they were the most influential patrons of the arts in...

James Wray 2 October 2023

Ancient Rome

How to Identify a Roman Emperor by His Beard

How many times have you walked into a museum full of statues or busts and not been able to tell one ancient sculpture from another? It can be...

Lauren Dorsey 18 September 2023

Fashion

Most Beautiful Dresses: Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo by Agnolo Bronzino

The best-known image of Eleanor of Toledo is also one of the most beautiful dresses in art history. Don’t be too distracted by the beauty of the...

Vithória Konzen Dill 17 August 2023

Attributed to the Workshop of Nicholas Hilliard, Elizabeth I Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Elizabeth I

The portrait of Elizabeth I is attributed to the workshop of Nicholas Hilliard and showcases the queen in her sixties. Similar to other images of...

Anna Ingram 9 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 7 July 2023

François Clouet (School), Portrait of Louise de Lorraine, ca. 1575, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Louise de Lorraine by François Clouet (School)

Portrait of Louise de Lorraine is a French Renaissance painting that exudes the artistic ideas of its time and captures the queen’s personal and...

James W Singer 29 June 2023

Nicaise de Keyser, William II (1792-1849), King of the Netherlands, when Prince of Orange, 1846, Royal Collection, UK. History

Willem II: The Queer King of the Netherlands

Willem II ruled the Netherlands from 1840 to 1849. In modern terms he would be considered a bisexual man, as he had relationships with both women and...

Jimena Escoto 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

El Lissitzky, Klinom krasnym bei belykh (Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge), 1919, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Beat The Whites With The Red Wedge by El Lissitzky

Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge (Клином красным бей белых!) is a 1919 lithographic Soviet propaganda poster by artist Lazar...

Zuzanna Stańska 24 April 2023

European Art

Queen Elizabeth I – Portraits of the Last Tudor

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) was the only surviving child of King Henry VIII of England and his second wife Anne Boleyn. Being a girl was hard...

Sarah Mills 20 February 2023

British royal portraits European Art

Power and Propaganda – The British Royal Portraits

Royal portraiture is a centuries-old tradition, but it might be called the forerunner of the posed selfie – an artfully curated image that is meant...

Candy Bedworth 20 February 2023

North American Art

Eyewitness to Space: The NASA Art Program

Did you know that NASA has quite a unique art collection and that they used to commission artists to document their missions and projects? Let us...

Marta Wiktoria Bryll 4 February 2023