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Italian Art for Travelers
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The Real Doge
What is a doge? A canine meme, a crypto currency, or an attempt to create a department of government efficiency? None of the above. The firs

Gerriann Brower
Feb 115 min read


Renaissance Bedrooms: Mattresses, Sleep, Dreams, and Pests
The Renaissance bedroom was the room where it happened, serving many purposes, including sleep, sex, childbirth, illness, recovery, death, a

Gerriann Brower
Jan 1110 min read


Consequential Conclaves
Three consequential sixteenth century conclaves illustrate the power wrangling and coalitions in electing a pope: the conclaves for Julius I

Gerriann Brower
Nov 12, 20249 min read


From Saul to Paul: Art Inspired by Paul the Apostle
Why are so many places and people named after Paul? Paul’s life story from persecutor to preacher inspired his namesake and art from convers

Gerriann Brower
Oct 1, 202411 min read


St. Catherine of Siena's Stigmata and Relics
St. Catherine of Siena, was a gutsy fourteenth century history making woman. She was determined to make a difference, even with doubters and

Gerriann Brower
Jun 5, 20249 min read


Renaissance Hair
Renaissance hair served dual functions. Hair beautified the individual and indicated well-being and character. The length and style of hair

Gerriann Brower
Jan 23, 20249 min read


From Renaissance Self-Portrait to Selfie
Are selfies an evolution of the self-portrait, or do they lack the cleverness and creativity of early modern self-images? The Italian Nation

Gerriann Brower
May 25, 202313 min read


Michelangelo and Titian: Endings
Michelangelo and Titian, the two sixteenth century powerhouse competitive artists, decided to create their own memorial as the end of their

Gerriann Brower
Apr 22, 202317 min read


Peacocks, Fetters, and other Signs and Symbols
A painting with a peacock, a wheel, a blue garment, a dead tree, and a woman holding pincers – what does it mean? If we could time travel ba

Gerriann Brower
Jun 6, 20229 min read


Venice in Six Iconic Symbols
Glass, the Rialto, gondolas, books, St. Mark, and wells are iconic parts of Venetian history, pieces of a historic puzzle of its faded, but

Gerriann Brower
May 9, 202214 min read


Art History Mysteries
Four mysteries: one is a painting with no clear meaning, an unexplained self-portrait, Botticelli's muse, and a da Vinci painting that might

Gerriann Brower
Mar 31, 202116 min read


Artemisia: Rule Breaker
The hidden history of women artists continues with Artemisia Gentileschi, the most studied and famous of the sixteenth and seventeenth...

Gerriann Brower
Mar 26, 202010 min read


Picturing Venice III
Venice became a mecca for European and American artists from 1860-1915. Approximately 90 American artists worked in Venice producing over 3,

Gerriann Brower
Jan 29, 20209 min read


Picturing Venice II
Some artists came to Venice to make money, and some came because they were drawn to the beauty. Some were destitute like James McNeil Whistl

Gerriann Brower
Jan 19, 20208 min read


Picturing Venice I
How did Venice become such an iconic symbol and why do 30 million visitors swarm the city each year? Blame it on the Brits and the Grand Tou

Gerriann Brower
Jan 13, 20209 min read


House Of Gold
Venice slowly grew on me. At first the tourist mono culture was a turn off, a distraction obscuring the treasures to be discovered. My...

Gerriann Brower
May 7, 20188 min read


Visiting Venice: Sinking or Stinking?
Why Venice? Venice is one of a kind. The location, geography, history, art, culture, and architecture are unmatched in mainland Italy....

Gerriann Brower
Feb 2, 20185 min read
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