“The Temptation of Eve” from the cathedral at Autun dates to about 1130. It was the first large-scale nude sculpture since Antiquity, and has become a hallmark of the “Renaissance of the Twelfth Century.” Although not as naturalistic as Ancient Roman sculptures could get, the Eve portrait gets kudos for representing the nude female body in a positive light.
Here’s a very old conspiracy theory for you: the spurious accusations against the Knights Templars. As you can see from this late-15th century depiction, the…
One of the earliest Medieval European depictions of an elephant as rendered by Matthew Paris in his Chronica Maiora II, 1235-1259. Parker Library, Corpus Christi…