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 20 August 2022
#royal portraits
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 30 June 2022
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Amazing Women in Her Portraits
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and women in her portraits should be a reference for every art-lover. The French painter – also known as Madame Le Brun...
Pola Otterstein 18 June 2022
Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées and One of Her Sisters
To a 21st century viewer, the portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées might seem homo-erotic. However, pictured with her sister, the Duchess of Villars,...
Anna Ingram 14 June 2022
Royal Portraits: The Art of Image
Shakespeare once wrote, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” For monarchs...
Abreeza Thomas 7 May 2022
Peek into the Court: Stunning Qajar Portraits
I’m sure you’re well acquainted with European royal portraiture. But have you ever seen portraits of rulers from beyond Europe? We want to show...
Magda Michalska 7 May 2022
Thérèse Schwartze: The Painter of the Amsterdam’s Elite
Thérèse Schwartze (1851–1918) grew up in an artistic family from Amsterdam. Her father Johann Georg Schwartze was a painter and he introduced his...
Europeana 28 April 2022
Royaltastic Queens: Women Who Fought the Patriarchy and Won!
Follow us on a short historical tour of thriving royal women across Europe who enjoyed power and success on their own terms. How we measure royal...
Candy Bedworth 21 April 2022
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 which is...
Candy Bedworth 21 April 2022
Portraits of Catherine the Great, Empress of all the Russias
Catherine the Great (1729-1796) ruled almost the entire second half of the 18th century. Her reign was very successful on the world arena and gave...
Elizaveta Ermakova 25 March 2022
Rebelious Princess – Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda, Princess of Éboli
“Who is this beauty with an eyepatch?” you may ask. Is she some sort of pirate queen? No, but you are not far from the truth. Ana de...
Joanna Kaszubowska 13 March 2022
Queen Marie Antoinette in Portraits
Marie Antoinette was the last Queen of France and Navarre before the French Revolution, she is known from many portraits. However, during the...
Zuzanna Stańska 8 March 2022
