Today in History: Birth of Rembrandt van Rijn.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born July 15th 1606 in Leiden during The Dutch Golden Age (1585-1702) where the Dutch Republic was the most prosperous nation in Europe. It led […]
Historical paintings: Battle of Kosovo of 1389 by Adam Stefanović.
There were two significant battles in the Ottoman conquest of the Serbian state in the fourteenth century. The first of these was the Battle of Maritsa that took place in […]
Historical painting: The Feast of Attila by Mór Than, 1870.
Most of what we know about Attila The Hun is shrouded in mystery. The Hun’s themselves left no written record of his colourful life and the very little evidence we […]
Historical Painting: Allegory of the 1755 Earthquake by João Glama Ströberle.
A massive earthquake some believe to up to the magnitude of 9.0, struck the city of Lisbon during the morning of church commemorations, of the holy day of the Feast […]
Today in History: The discovery of the statue of Venus de Milo.
One Hundred and ninety-eight years ago today, on the April 8th 1820, the statue of Venus de Milo was discovered by a farmer called Yorgos Kentrotas, inside a buried niche in the […]
A palette rich with colour: Celebrating Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Ernst Gombrich famously said in his book ‘The Story of Art’: “There really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists.” If we are to look at art through […]
Historical Painting: The arrival of the Croats at the Adriatic Sea by Oton Ivekovic, 1905.
Oton Ivekovic (1869-1939) stands as one of the most popular turn-of-the-century Croatian painters alongside of great artists such as Vlaho Bukovac (1855-1922), Ferdo Quiquerez (1845-1892) and Ivan Tisov (1870-1928). Interestingly, […]
Raphael’s long-lasting legacy.
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, also known as, Raphael, was the son of a successful Italian painter named Giovanni Santi. He was born in the Italian city of Urbino in 1483, […]
A brief guide to the artwork of Pompeii and Herculaneum. (Part 1)
Pompeii and Herculaneum are Roman cities from late antiquity that don’t need any introduction. We have all heard the story how they were obliterated during the catastrophic eruption of the […]
Roman mosaic from Antiochia, House of the Evil Eye.
Some of the most popular subjects for mosaics in ancient Greece and Rome were mythological scenes, daily life, the four seasons and the sea, the circus and gladiatorial games. But […]
The Mysterious Mary Magdalene.
Mary Magdalene is to simply put it an enigma. She is one of the more fascinating characters or persons from the gospels. Her devotion to Christ is second to none, […]
Alexandre Cabanel’s The Birth of Venus (1863).
Inspiration often comes from my daily grind. I’ve said it many times before and today is no different. I bought a bottle of spring water and imagine my surprise, as […]
Degas: A New Vision at the National Gallery of Victoria.
Last week, I made my way to the National Gallery of Victoria, in Melbourne, to experience possibly a once in a lifetime exhibitions, of legendary French artist Edgar Degas works. […]
Portrait of an Emperor: John VIII Palaiologos.
An Italian Renaissance painter from Florence, by the name of Benozzo Gozzoli, was commissioned to paint a three-walled cycle of frescoes in the Chapel of the Palazzo Medici- Riccardi. The […]
Masterclass in Byzantine Mosaics (Part 2)
A good number of Byzantine craftsmen, painters and artists are unknown or anonymous. Yet, they have left us with a rich legacy of decorative secular and religious art throughout the […]
Masterclass in Byzantine Mosaics (Part 1)
Who would have thought that a tiny small square piece of stone, glass or pottery called tesserae would have such an important impact on culture and art history? As far […]
