Category Archives: Renaissance Art and History

Military Architecture Exhibition at the Newberry Library

Posted on September 9, 2011 by briansandberg

The Newberry Library in Chicago is currently presenting an exhibition on “Ballistics and Politics: Military Architecture Books at the Newberry.” The exhibition includes fortifications treatises, city plans, siege views, and related maps and documents from the early modern period. Some … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Digital Humanities, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European Wars of Religion, French Wars of Religion, History of Violence, Renaissance Art and History, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

DNA Evidence of the Black Death

Posted on August 30, 2011 by briansandberg

The Black Death is back in the news. Several teams of scientists have been working over the past decade to extract DNA evidence from bodies of victims of the Black Death in fourteenth-century Europe. The latest findings confirm several other … Continue reading →

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

A Mead Renaissance

Posted on May 6, 2011 by briansandberg

Mead, a fermented honey drink popular in the medieval and renaissance periods, is apparently making a comeback. NPR reports on the mead revival in the United States. Students in HIST 111 Western Civilization, 1500-1815 and in HIST 420 The Renaissance … Continue reading →

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

Illustrated Architecture Books

Posted on May 2, 2011 by briansandberg

An exhibition entitled Illustrated Architecture Books: Highlights from 500 Years of Theory and Practices at the University of Illinois at Chicago celebrates the 500th anniversary of the publication of the 1511 illustrated edition of Vitruvius’s classic architectural treatise. The Illustrated … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, History in the Media, History of the Book, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Review of Warrior Pursuits

Posted on April 20, 2011 by briansandberg

The first review of Warrior Pursuits: Noble Culture and Civil Conflict in Early Modern France has been published.  Professor Phillip John Usher, of Barnard College, reviews my monograph in Renaissance Quarterly. I am happy that book reviews of Warrior Pursuits … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Research, Early Modern Europe, French Wars of Religion, History of Violence, Renaissance Art and History, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Hunt for the “real” Mona Lisa

Posted on April 6, 2011 by briansandberg

The never-ending hunt for the “real” woman portrayed in Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is taking a new twist.  In the latest CSI-meets-art history research, an Italian art historian is attempting to locate and exhume the body of Lisa Gherardini, … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Humanities, European History, History in the Media, Italian History, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

The Borgias: Renaissance on TV

Posted on April 3, 2011 by briansandberg

The Renaissance comes to life on a new TV series on Showtime, beginning tonight.  The series is entitled The Borgias, starring Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI. See a trailer and further information on The Borgias on Showtime’s website. Students … Continue reading →

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

Renaissance Prints at the Art Institute of Chicago

Posted on March 23, 2011 by briansandberg

This is a big year for the Renaissance at the Art Institute of Chicago.  A major exhibition on Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France is ongoing at the Art Institute until 30 May 2011. Another exhibit will … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France

Posted on March 20, 2011 by briansandberg

Renaissance France is present in Chicago!  A new exhibition, entitled “Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France,” opened recently at the Art Institute of Chicago. I visited the exhibition today with several of my graduate students and found … Continue reading →

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

Friendship in Renaissance Florence

Posted on February 27, 2011 by briansandberg

I am enjoying reading Dale Kent, Friendship, Love, and Trust in Renaissance Florence (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009), in preparation for discussions with my HIST 420 The Renaissance students this week. For a book description, see Amazon.com.  

Posted in Current Research, Early Modern Europe, European History, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment