‘After’ Holbein
Sir Thomas More – lawyer, philosopher, statesman and Lord High Chancellor to King Henry VIII of England – was executed for treason on this day, 6 July, 485 years ago …
The Deeper Meaning of Liff
A big thank you to Patti Bradbury for some ‘whimsy in winter’. Patti writes: ‘Michael’s recent references to little used words reminded me that I have a book entitled The …
The Fourth of July
The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, in the United States of America commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. This document declared that thirteen American colonies …
Paolo Veneziano
In a recent episode of ‘Travels with a Curator’, Xavier Salomon from The Frick Collection takes us to San Severino Marche, Italy, to discuss ‘Coronation of the Virgin’ by Paolo …
Ozias Humphry
As a member of the Royal Academy, and with the appointment ‘Portrait Painter in Crayons to the King’ in 1792, one might imagine that Ozias Humphry would be more than …
My kingdom was a horse
At the age of 8, George was really interested in looking at bones. As his father was a currier (a dresser of animal skins) he undoubtedly had access to plenty …
Victoria(n) artist
June 28, 1838 was the day Queen Victoria was crowned at Westminster Abbey. A number of people have described the event which, according to the historian, Roy Strong, was the …
Pictures at an exhibition (2)
Thank you again to Lynn Morgan for ….
Causerie
From my book ‘Lost Words…’ there is the 19th century English word ’causerie’. Coming from the French for ‘talk’ or ‘chat’ – and often used in the context of a …
A COVID Decameron
It is now 100 days (and 100 articles) since Beguidedbyart commenced as a response to the coronavirus lockdown. Giovanni Boccaccio set a precedent for writing 100 stories in ‘The Decameron’ …