The Mannerist Splendor: Meet Four Powerful Women of Bronzino
Agnolo di Cosimo (1503–1572), known as Bronzino, was an Italian Mannerist painter. He lived and worked in Florence and became the court painter of...
Joanna Kaszubowska 17 November 2025
#Propaganda
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 Author 18 June 2025
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 29 April 2025
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 6 April 2025
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 24 March 2025
Inspiring the Artemis Generation: Relaunch of the NASA Art Program
With the unveiling of a space-themed mural in New York, NASA steps into a new age of its art program. The goal of this relaunch? To inspire a new...
Marta Wiktoria Bryll 20 February 2025
Masterpiece Story: Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps is one of the most famous and politically iconic images of European art history. However, it is a...
James W Singer 26 January 2025
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 10 January 2025
Wearing the Message: Changing the World One Outfit at a Time
From the original silk banners worn by the Suffragettes, through to slogan T-shirts, we often quite literally wear our protest message. This...
Candy Bedworth 30 December 2024
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
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
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 Author 11 June 2023
