Category Archives: Renaissance Art and History

Anne Boleyn in Film

Anne Boleyn, and the Tudor English society that she lived in, continues to fascinate filmmakers and cinema audiences worldwide. Anne was a key character in many historical films during the golden age of Hollywood. Films and television series on the … Continue reading

Posted in Early Modern Europe, European History, European Wars of Religion, Historical Film, History in the Media, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Renaissance Art and History, Women and Gender History | Leave a comment

Swiss Guard Saved Rome

The legendary Swiss Guard of the Vatican is in the news today on the anniversary of the Sack of Rome of 1527. NPR reports on the swearing in ceremonies of the Swiss Guard in Rome today. Northern Illinois University students … Continue reading

Posted in Early Modern Europe, European History, European Wars of Religion, History in the Media, Mediterranean World, Mercenaries, Renaissance Art and History, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Renaissance Society of America Conference 2012

The Renaissance Society of America Conference 2012 has now concluded.  The conference, which is the premier conference on interdisciplinary Renaissance studies in North America, was held from 21-24 March at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Washington, DC. This annual conference … Continue reading

Posted in Academic Publishing, Conferences, Current Research, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Italian History, Mediterranean World, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Renaissance Art and Modern Banking

Italian Renaissance bankers arguably invented the concepts and tools of modern banking, including bills of exchange, letters of credit, deposit banking, branch banks, and double-entry bookkeeping. A recent exhibition on Money and Beauty: Bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the Vanities … Continue reading

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, History in the Media, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Coffee in the Early Modern Mediterranean

We take coffee shops for granted today. From global chain like Starbucks to classic Parisian cafés and local American diners, coffee shops deliver caffeine to people around the world. Coffee consumption became global in the seventeenth century, when a coffee … Continue reading

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, Food and Cuisine History, Mediterranean World, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

AHA 2012

The gargantuan American Historical Association (AHA) 2012 conference has now wrapped up, and numerous journalists and historians are providing assessments of the conference and the state of the discipline of history. An estimated 4,700 historians (including professors, instructors, public historians, … Continue reading

Posted in Conferences, Graduate Work in History, History in the Media, Humanities Education, Renaissance Art and History | 1 Comment

Leonardo da Vinci Blockbuster

Art lovers and historians are queuing up for a Leonardo da Vinci blockbuster exhibition at the National Gallery in London. The exhibition is entitled Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan and is on view until 5 February … Continue reading

Posted in Art History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, History in the Media, Italian History, Mediterranean World, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Book Covers and the E-Book Revolution

As the ongoing e-book revolution spreads, many authors and readers lament the possible demise of printed books. Despite growing e-book sales, publishers seem to have found robust niche markets for printed books.  Well-designed book covers and aesthetic features in some … Continue reading

Posted in Academic Publishing, Digital Humanities, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, History of the Book, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Galileo in the News

A new book about Galileo Galilei’s approach to natural philosophy and mathematics has put Galileo in the news once again. Professor Mark A. Peterson’s Galileo’s Muse: Renaissance Mathematics and the Arts (Harvard University Press, 2011), reexamines Galileo’s method of using … Continue reading

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, History in the Media, History of Science, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Friendship in Premodern Europe

This weekend, I am participating in a conference on Friendship in Premodern Europe (1300-1700), hosted by the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies (CRRS) at the University of Toronto. This conference has been organized by historian Konrad Eisenbichler and the … Continue reading

Posted in Conferences, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, Renaissance Art and History | 2 Comments