Han van Meegeren: The Forger Who Fooled the Nazis and the Art World
The Dutchman Han van Meegeren considered himself a top painter, even though in the art world it is a common belief that you can't just give yourself the title of master. That is for others to decide - critics and connoisseurs, people with an eye for beauty who can separate…
Amedeo Modigliani: The Tragic Genius of Montparnasse
A few years ago, a painting of his was sold at auction for 150 million euros. When he was still working, he was happy if he earned enough for a plate of soup. He lived in Paris, the bohemian capital of the world, at the beginning of the 20th century…
The History of Tattoos: Exploring the Cultural Significance of Tattoos
Twenty-four-year-old Catt Gallinger has always loved seeing her friends. Their eyes were different. Not because they sparkled, but because their eyes were not white. They had been permanently tattooed with the colour of their choice. Now Catt has chosen to do the same. She already had 25 tattoos on her…
Amelia Earhart’s Final Flight: The Mystery of Nikumaroro Island
Thirty-one May marks 80 years since 29-year-old Amelia Earhart took to the skies. In her new Lockheed L-10E Electra aircraft, she planned to be the first woman to fly around the world and the first to fly around the equator on a route of around forty-three thousand kilometres. Everyone believed…
How Renaissance Women Redefined Art, Power, and Independence
Out of the foam of the Renaissance waves, as beautiful as the Venus painted by Botticelli, naked and innocent, a modern woman emerged, ready to enter a world that had been out of her reach. The Renaissance is placed by many in 1492, when Lorenzo de' Medici died and Rodrigo…
The Hidden Secrets of Leonardo da Vinci: From the Mona Lisa to the Last Supper
We all know them, but at the same time we don't. The world's most famous works of art are an inexhaustible wellspring of irresistibly compelling mysteries. Leonardo da Vinci was not only a well-educated genius, he was also a lover of puzzles. He is said to have incorporated several of…
