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FIRST MYSTERY: DID REMBRANDT ANTICIPATE THE CONFUSION? I mean the confusion with the title. That “The Night Watch” is not actually nocturnal is stated not only by art historians but also by plain common sense. Rembrandt depicts a militia company composed of affluent citizens. Their duties included: during wartime—defending their native Amsterdam, and in peacetime—participating […]

I pondered for a long time on which epithet best describes the style of the British artist Frederic Leighton, I sifted through my vocabulary – and in the end, I returned to the word that first came to mind: flaming. Especially since it came not only to my mind: one of his most famous paintings

In one of my previous articles, which I’m sure you didn’t miss, the topic was  Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights.” More precisely, the part that traditionally receives the least attention, namely: the exterior panels:     It turns out that neglecting them is a big mistake: after all, the key to understanding the triptych as

So, what kind of trap are we talking about? Let’s take the Ulm Cathedral in Germany as an example. Imagine this: first, you admired its tower soaring into the sky from the square below:     And then you ascended to the observation deck, from which the entire stone panopticon of the cathedral, all its

TACTIC ONE: SHOW UP, PROVIDE EXPLANATIONS – AND HOPE FOR THE BEST Who reported Paolo Veronese, that remains a mystery. The patrons? Unlikely. As far as we know, the Dominican monks who needed a huge canvas for the refectory (which was, in simple terms, a large cafeteria for monks) of the Santissimi Giovanni e Paolo

When it comes to the mysterious triptych by Bosch, “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” the outer panels traditionally receive the least attention. And I pity them! While the famous inner panels are being invited by numerous art historians to scientifical prom, poor outer panels are stuck in footnotes, lonely and sad:     But complex

The beautiful title of Botticelli’s painting – Derelitta, meaning “The Abandonded” – is actually the result of the helplessness of art historians.     In this painting, there is indeed not a single detail to lead us toward an explanation. Yes, there are walls and gates, but they seem to mock rather than help. Botticelli

Believe it or not, during the Middle Ages, it was quite common to depict Moses with horns on his head. You’ve probably heard of Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of Moses, right? Well, he’s rocking some small horns too. Michelangelo gave them a stylized touch, making them look like a quirky hairstyle addition. But if you take