Gerriann Brower
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
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Italian Art for Travelers
Your passport to culture, history, and art
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Gerriann Brower
- Mar 3, 2021
- 12 min
The Meander Tattoo
A better title for this post is “How My Wife Ended up with a Fifth Century Mosaic Tattooed on Her Foot.” It’s an odd connection between...
Gerriann Brower
- Jan 28, 2021
- 7 min
The Zen of Art
Take some time to really look at art. Observation along with understanding some visual clues artists embed in their work can draw you into a
Gerriann Brower
- Dec 17, 2020
- 18 min
King David
How did artists represent the Old Testament King David? As giant slayer? Lustful king? Composer of Psalms? Let’s look at some depictions
Gerriann Brower
- Nov 19, 2020
- 18 min
From Caesar to Mona Lisa
How would you like to be remembered? That selfie you took on vacation, a wedding photo, or image from a family gathering? We consciously...
Gerriann Brower
- Sep 24, 2020
- 12 min
Mary's Miracles
A boy from Lombardy wanders into a river and falls in. His parents are desperate to locate him. Later he is found by his family standing...
Gerriann Brower
- Aug 18, 2020
- 17 min
Painting Italian Style
If you visit Italy you can’t miss the frescoes. Fresco paintings decorate castles, Roman villas, public buildings, and of course,...
Gerriann Brower
- Jun 26, 2020
- 14 min
The Old Man and the Dome
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti (1475-1564) is a mythic figure, the creator of the Sistine Chapel frescoes and sculptures such as the Da
Gerriann Brower
- May 11, 2020
- 11 min
Plague and Pandemics
What does Covid-19 and plague in Italy have in common? A lot it turns out, including disagreements about what to do or not do, and what reme
Gerriann Brower
- Apr 16, 2020
- 5 min
Honoring Raphael
April 6, 2020 marks the 500th anniversary of the death of Raphael (1483-1520), Renaissance artist extraordinaire. Italy planned grand...
Gerriann Brower
- Mar 26, 2020
- 10 min
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 24, 2020
- 9 min
Trailblazing Women Artists
Welcome to the hidden history of women artists. Were there really women artists in the 1600s and 1700s? Yes, there were. White male...
Gerriann Brower
- Jan 29, 2020
- 9 min
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 19, 2020
- 8 min
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 13, 2020
- 9 min
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
- Aug 6, 2019
- 8 min
2000 Years of Roman History, Part Five: Straw Angels
St. Peter’s is a showcase of seventeenth century Italian art and the two personalities who put a defining plan in place to finish it. What P
Gerriann Brower
- Jul 25, 2019
- 15 min
2000 Years of Roman History, Part Four: Two Popes
Approximately six million people visit the Sistine Ceiling and Vatican Museums each year. Who made these treasures possible? Two popes from
Gerriann Brower
- Jul 17, 2019
- 8 min
2000 Years of Roman History, Part Three: Saint Mary Across the Tiber
Trastevere embodies an old world atmosphere with narrow cobblestone streets and a dynamic neighborhood. Literally meaning across the...
Gerriann Brower
- Jul 9, 2019
- 7 min
2000 Years of Roman History, Part Two: Garden Party
Roman political views vacillate equally between complaining and throwing their hands up as a lost cause. Manefestazioni and scioperi...
Gerriann Brower
- Jul 2, 2019
- 6 min
2000 Years of Roman History, Part One: The First Romans
The Etruscans were the homegrown Italians, the native peoples inhabiting Etruria, just north of Rome to Northern Tuscany. Etruscan culture i
Gerriann Brower
- Apr 3, 2019
- 12 min
Caravaggio: His Art, Death, and Teeth
Caravaggio’s life was as dramatic as his art. He was equally known in Rome as an artistic innovator and trouble maker. Until recently, his d
Gerriann Brower
- Jan 22, 2019
- 10 min
Bad Boys and Iconoclasts: Seventeenth Century Roman Art
Seventeenth century Roman art is one of surprises, contrasts, and drama. No one style predominated. Paintings could be evenly lit or have...
Gerriann Brower
- Oct 25, 2018
- 9 min
Art Misappropriated: Fascism Then and Now
Fascists cherry picked iconic images as the perfect foil for disseminating concepts of cultural purity and superiority. The role of Fascism
Gerriann Brower
- Aug 28, 2018
- 8 min
Good Government, Bad Government
Suffering Madonna overload in museums and churches? Are paintings of Annunciations starting to look the same? Now for something...
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