Curious Connections – the family Stuart connections with the Medici family

Family Stuart connections with the Medici Family Elizabeth Stuart painted by English court painter Robert Peake in 1603 I have recently been reading a book by Nadine Akkerman about the life of Elizabeth Stuart (1596-1662)- the only daughter of James 1 King of the...

Just Goosing around

  Lockdown  Experience London November 2020 –  May 2021   My Father was a pilot, flying was his life. He told everyone, except me, about his war stories on bombing missions over Burma …. to me he just explained the wonders of flying – the thrill of it all –...

Lavinia Fontana and the Maselli family

Lavinia Fontana painting of the Maselli family   Lavinia Fontana (born 24/81552 - died 11/8/1614) appears to me to have been the ideal artist to undertake this complicated family portrait. In the first place her father, Prospero Fontana, (1517-1521) was already a...

Brooding over Baldovinetti

I could not ever deny being a huge fan of English writer E.M. Forster - in particular, I love both his Italian themed novels,  I think that Where Angels Fear to Tread sums up the Anglo-Italian liaison with frightening accuracy but I was most touched in my schooldays...

Imaginary Conversations – with due respect to Walter Savage Landor – Artemisia Gentilischi chats with Plautilla Nelli

A.G. "Is that really you Plautilla? It is so difficult to recognise you when the only image of you that I have is a blanked out face in the corner of one of your frescos". Whatever were you trying to say about yourself when you painted that? Plautilla Nelli P.N. Well,...
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