Next to the Mona Lisa, Johannes Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring is quite possibly the most famous portrait of all time. The 17th-century painting inspired a movie starring Scarlett Johansson and last year, was the target of climate activists protest, and it’s on view right now as part of the Rijksmuseum’s once-in-a-lifetime exhibition of works by the Dut ... Show More
Sep 11
Why Are Museum Wall Texts So Bad?
The humble wall label at an art exhibition has a funny status. It feels, on the one hand, like a side note or an afterthought. On the other, it is a first point of contact and literal guide for a visitor looking to know more. There is an entire undersung discipline, Visitor Studi ... Show More
42m 15s
Sep 3
The Etruscans Made Astonishing Art. Why Aren't They Better Known?
The ancient Romans called the Mediterranean mare nostrum, "our sea." But before the Romans rose to power, the Etruscans had extensive trade networks in the area and controlled much of the Italian peninsula, the future heart of the Roman Empire. Between around 900 B.C.E. and the f ... Show More
35m 41s
Mar 2021
The Sunday Read: 'Rembrandt in the Blood'
<p>It was in the winter of 2016 that Jan Six, a Dutch art dealer based in Amsterdam, made a discovery that would upend his life. He was leafing through a Christie’s<strong> </strong>catalog when he spotted a painting featuring a young man wearing a dazed look, a lace collar and a ... Show More
1h 2m
Oct 2025
'I Am You' fictionalizes the story of a Dutch Golden Age painter and her maid
Dutch Golden Age painter Maria van Oosterwijck and her assistant, Gerta Pieters, lived side by side in 17th century Amsterdam, Pieters having started out as van Oosterwijck’s maid. Victoria Redel’s new historical novel I Am You fictionalizes their story, exploring their personal ... Show More
11m 59s
Mar 2024
The Woman Who Made van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh’s genius was finally recognised 11 years after his death, when, on March 15th, 1901, the Bernheim-Jeune Gallery in Paris debuted his first major exhibition. Without the persistence of his sister-in-law, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, it could probably not have happened ... Show More
11m 42s