Browse Items (149 total)

The construction of the Cornaro Chapel took place from 1647 to 1652 at the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. The project was comissioned by Frederigo Cornaro, the Cardinal of Venice to honor both himself, family members, and a saint. The chapel was…

“Amidst the Crowds in St Peter's Square, Stands Ancient Egypt.” Archaeology Travel, August 26, 2020. https://archaeology-travel.com/street/vatican-obelisk-in-st-peters-square/.

Boorsch, Suzanne. “The Building of the Vatican: The Papacy and…

Depicted in the image is a "mixed-gender" medical school class dissection. A group of medical students consisting of five males and 1 female examine a cadaver along with the professor. The image portrays the tension over female medical training in…

Engravings modeled after the Palazzo del Te

This self-portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola depicts the artist seated at a keyboard and accompanied by an older maidservant. Anguissola wears a dark brown, somewhat unembellished gown with a small frilled collar and cuffs. She sits very tall and…

Sofonisba Anguissola, the artist of the portrait, was born into a financially struggling noble family with six siblings. She was known to utilize her family members as subjects of her early paintings (Murphy 2007). Indeed, the pictured individual is…

Bernini’s Medusa sculpture shows Medusa amidst her transformation into a monster. Bernini’s depiction here is again heavily depicted by Ovid’s Metamorphosis. According to Ovid, Medusa was punished by Athena for having an affair with Poseidon in her…

The Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius sculpture was the first large modern sculpture to be exhibited at Borghese villa. The sculpture depicts a classic visual from the stories of the Trojan War. It shows Aeneas, the founder of Rome, leading his family…