Some brief thoughts on Karl Briullov’s The Last Day of Pompeii (1830 – 1833).
Happy birthday Caravaggio! This year’s collection of images celebrating his birth are some of his self-portraits. The most moving of these, for me, are the ones where he inserts himself into the narrative: as a witness (fleeing) from Matthew’s martyrdom,…
James from Amor Sciendi and I collaborated on his latest video, “The Madonna of the Rosary and the Counter Reformation.” You can watch the video below and read the article for more information. Please visit the Amor Sciendi YouTube channel…
The Mughal empire represents a unique and fascinating period in art history: the Empire was simultaneously Muslim (Sunni) and Indian, interweaving not only Muslim and Indian faiths, but also their politics, cultural practices, and of course art and architecture. This…
In 1622, Pope Gregory XV began restoring and tightening Rome’s grip on the Church’s rightful and overwhelming influence in the world. (His successor, Urban VIII, continued his work and founded a missionary training college that would send messengers of the…
Happy Birthday, Caravaggio! You’ve had a great year. People all over the world, especially Italy, celebrated the 400th anniversary of your death on July 18, 1610. Exhibits displaying your masterpieces sprung up internationally, a couple new books about your life…
My father, David Shatto, wrote a brief essay in 2009 called “Digital vs. Classical Art: Or Rather, Digital vs. Physical Art.” The concepts and ideas presented are succinctly explored with wonderful language. The essay raises questions regarding the existence of art, its form and…
As my husband was driving me to work this morning, I was thinking about a recent article I read in the NY Times that reported on extremely low history test scores from American elementary and high school students. Less than…
