#royal portraits

The Rainbow Portrait Renaissance

Masterpiece Story: The Rainbow Portrait

Queen Elizabeth I is known throughout history as one of the most famous British Queens. Even without a husband, she successfully ruled England for 45...

Anna Ingram 24 March 2025

Fashion

Dressed in Power: Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo by Agnolo Bronzino

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

Vithória Konzen Dill 24 March 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Phoenix Portrait of Elizabeth I

One of the most famous depictions of Elizabeth I is Nicholas Hilliard’s Phoenix Portrait, depicting the Queen with a pendant shaped like a mythical...

Guest Author 24 March 2025

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 24 March 2025

Arpita Shah Modern Muse Photography

Modern Muse: Arpita Shah’s Feminist Take on Mughal Portraiture

Staging an intervention in art history, and specifically in Indian miniature portraiture, Arpita Shah replaces male Mughal emperors with inspiring...

Guest Author 17 March 2025

Long Read

Badass Queens from Classical History

A rollicking adventure through the lives of great leaders and queens from ancient times. Famous female leaders are a fascinating bunch. Here at...

Candy Bedworth, Guest Author 11 March 2025

King Louis XIV painted by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701 European Art

The Sun King’s Reflection: Portraits of Louis XIV

Louis XIV was definitely a great arts patron but sadly a slightly less great king. However, that didn’t stop him from being self-indulging,...

Magda Michalska 17 February 2025

Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Henry VIII of England, ca. 1537, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain.  History

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 17 February 2025

Rococo

Queen Marie Antoinette in 10 Portraits

Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France and Navarre before the French Revolution, is renowned for numerous portraits that depict her life.

Zuzanna Stańska 16 January 2025

Herstory

Masterpiece Story: The Portrait of Empress Dowager Cixi by Katharine Augusta Carl

Art and politics have been closely intertwined throughout global history. This article studies the case of The Empress Dowager Cixi of China by...

Iolanda Munck 11 December 2024

Baroque

10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Anthony van Dyck

Anthony van Dyck, a Flemish Baroque painter of remarkable skill, left an indelible mark on art history. His signature style of refined portraits and...

Jimena Aullet 24 October 2024

Ancient Egypt

Nefertiti as a Beauty Icon

Nefertiti is a beauty icon and one of the most powerful women who has inspired us throughout centuries. Responding to the rhythms of the age, she...

Marina Kochetkova 18 October 2024