art

Isis

Isis in the Cult of the Egyptian

“The Thunder, Perfect Mind” is a mesmerizing poem dating perhaps to the second century CE. It reflects the mingling of many different belief systems in the Roman Empire, such as those ideas popular with the Cult of the Egyptian Goddess Isis, shown here in a Roman-styled rendition.It takes the voice of a female divine being, […]

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Molecular Chemical Analysis

Scientific Explanations for Medieval European Colored Artwork

Get ready to geek out here, because I am going to sing praises for the ways molecular chemical analysis is helping historians understand more clearly how people saw and created art in Medieval Europe. This first slide here is part of a cover page for a new paper published in _Scientific Advances_ which shows fabric

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Oswald von Wolkenstein

Oswald von Wolkenstein and his Sinful Appetites

This funky-faced individual was Oswald von Wolkenstein, a poet, musical composer, and diplomat in the Late Middle Ages (1376/7-1445). Von Wolkenstein’s adventurous life included episodes of warfare, daring military ventures, and captivity, but what I find most intriguing is the conflation of his Christian world-view with his open admission of enjoying appetites that he considered

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The Burghers of Calais

Wealthy Calais Classes Sacrifice for the Less Powerful

This detail of Auguste Rodin’s masterpiece, _The Burghers of Calais_ (1884-89) evokes a moment of despondency and sacrifice that took place in the Hundred Year’s War between France and England in the Late Middle Ages. The story ultimately has a happy ending, but nowhere is this foreshadowed in Rodin’s work.In 1346, the French town of

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Renaissance Sculpture Close

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa

Many who like history are drawn to a past that they can feel connected to. But some are drawn to the ways the past feels radically different. In the latter case, when faced with a totally alien world-view, we are constantly forced to recognize how powerful cultural ideals are in shaping the consciousness of human

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Witch

The Waldensians – Flying Witches

In the Central Middle Ages, before the witch-hunt craze of the 16th century, more men than women were accused of sorcery. However, the association of women resorting to unscrupulous and un-Christian ways to fly had become well entrenched by 1500 CE.In a manuscript called the _canon Episcopi_, which might have been written in the late

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Aztec Alcohol

Indigenous Aztec’s and Their Alcohol Consumption

There is a common misconception that Native American Indians had no exposure to alcohol before contact with the Europeans. This idea extends to imagining that AmerIndians were genetically less able to metabolize alcohol than the explorers from the Old World. In fact, neither of these ideas are true, as the laws and traditions of the

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Francois Fleury-Richard

Francois Fleury-Richard’s “Little Red Riding Hood”

This painting by Francois Fleury-Richard shows a scene from the children’s fairy-tale “Little Red Riding Hood.” The illustration dates to about 1820, which is centuries after the original story developed. However, some features of this piece render the original spirit of the tale better than later versions. We see the smallness of the girl, who

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Lacoon

The Tragedy of Lacoon and the “Snake Detection Hypothesis”

Carved out of marble in the first century CE, this Ancient Roman sculpture is one of the world’s most famous works of art. It showcases a tragic moment in the myth of Lacoon and his sons, when, in revenge for trying to alert the Ancient Trojans about a giant horse armed with secret enemies of

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Paul Lancz

The Importance of Maternal Kisses

This sculpture by Paul Lancz from 2014 is one of the many public works of art always on display in the city of Montreal. Entitled “La Tendresse/ Tenderness,” it captures a ubiquitous display of affection between mother and child. This physical gesture of a mother kissing her baby has been a hallmark of affection uniting

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Pompeii Fresco

Surgery in Ancient Pompeii

This fresco from the first-century ruins of Pompeii show that Ancient Roman physicians knew how to practice surgery. In a world without the scientific method, knowledge of germ theory, or antibiotics, doctors could get a lot wrong. However, they got enough right to establish some medical practices that endured for ages, and have influenced medicine

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17th Century Design

The Sign and Writings of Baruch de Spinoza

This 17th-century design would make a perfect tattoo, except the meaning would say something pitiable about the wearer. It is a rose with the Latin word “CAUTE” beneath. The rose meant secrecy, and _caute_ means “cautiously.” The person who used this sign, Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677), did so because he had to constantly keep his

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Papyrus

The Smith Papyrus and Medical Treatments

The dates of the objects in this composite image are far removed from the origin of their subjects: in the background is the Edwin Smith Papyrus, dating from the 17th-century BCE, but ultimately stemming from about 2500 BCE. In the foreground is a Greek Hellenistic statue of Imhotep, the Ancient Egyptian polymath whom many suspect

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The Unexpected Effect of Mustard Gas

This haunting painting by John Singer Sargent (‘Gassed,’ 1919) shows the horrific consequences of Mustard Gas that nations used against enemy soldiers in the First World War. The hazy yellow skies permeate the atmosphere, as the wounded men make their way across the canvas, many blinded by the hydrochloric acid that survivors attested smelt of

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Visions of Constantine

“The Visions of Constantine” – Holiness and Horror

This post is about the juxtaposition of holiness and horror. The statue you see here is “the Vision of Constantine,” sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (d. 1680), one of history’s most talented artists. Bernini is famous for his beautiful marble renderings of the human form, and most of his beloved works were of well known

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Three Scientists

The Humanities and Scientific Advancements

There are two common denominators of the three scientists featured in this image. First, Anthony Fauci, Harold Varmus, and J. Michael Bishop spent decades of their lives devoted to searching for elusive causes and treatment of disease. Fauci worked on HIV among other illnesses, and Varmus and Bishop on cancer (the pair won the Nobel

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