#italy

Ancient Rome

Roman Floor Mosaics: Stories in Stone and Glass

Floor mosaics are one of the most well-preserved and widespread objects of Roman art. They were found throughout the Roman Empire from Britain to...

Anuradha Sroha 17 February 2025

discarding image: Rothschild Canticles, Flanders, c. 1300 Medieval Art

The Best of Discarding Images

During the Middle Ages, illuminated manuscripts were first used in the Roman Catholic Church for liturgical services and prayers. The popularity of...

Anna Ingram 12 February 2025

Fresco in the Sassetti Chapel, Florence. Renaissance

Redemption of Sins: Frescoes in Florentine Family Chapels

Renowned for its artistic flourishing, Renaissance Florence saw prominent families investing their fortunes into the city’s artistic...

Nikolina Konjevod 10 February 2025

Erotica

Erotic Art in Pompeii and Herculaneum (NSFW!)

Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum is a phenomenon often omitted from textbooks about ancient history. These famous Roman cities destroyed by the...

Zuzanna Stańska 10 February 2025

Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait Painting the Madonna, 1556, 66 x 57 cm, Lancut Museum, Poland. ArtStor digital library. Women Artists

Sofonisba Anguissola: The Life of a Rule-Breaker Painter

During the Italian Renaissance, women artists did not have the same access to artistic education as men. Sofonisba Anguissola, however, was very...

Nina Relf 3 February 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola by Anthony van Dyck

Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish painter born in Antwerp (then Spanish Netherlands, now Belgium) in 1599 and passed away in London in 1641. From 1621...

Soledad Castillo Jara 3 February 2025

Piero della Francesca Artist Stories

Piero della Francesca: Artist, Mathematician, Humanist

Piero della Francesca was not only an accomplished artist of the Early Renaissance, but also one of the greatest mathematicians of his day. His works...

Natalia Iacobelli 27 January 2025

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 2025

Women Artists

The Colorful World of Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden

Inspired by Antoni Gaudí’s Park Güell in Barcelona, Parco dei Mostri in Bomarzo, as well as Palais Idéal by Ferdinand Cheval, the...

Caroline Galambosova 22 January 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: David by Michelangelo

The biblical figure of David, the young shepherd who defeated Goliath, was a popular subject for sculptors during the Renaissance. However, no...

Vithória Konzen Dill 17 January 2025

Sculpture

Masterpiece Story: Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini

Benvenuto Cellini’s Perseus with the Head of Medusa is a sculpture that is commonly overlooked. In fact, it could be the most regularly overlooked...

James Wray 17 January 2025

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 17 January 2025