History · Art · Architecture
History, art, and architecture — explained with warmth and clarity.
Short essays with academic grounding and a human voice. From Renaissance Florence to Scottish country houses.
Latest Essays
Mona Lisa Is Not Mysterious or Enigmatic. She’s Just Uncanny Valley. Part 1.
This series explores the significance of portraiture, particularly through the example of the Mona Lisa.
The Mendicant Orders in Edinburgh
The Mendicant orders spread from southern Europe north of the Alps and spread in popularity thanks to their mission of poverty, preaching, and charity.
Michelangelo’s David: Complete Series (An Icon of Public Art)
Few works of art have come to represent the ideals of the Renaissance as powerfully as Michelangelo’s David.
Featured series
A History of Florence (Antiquity to 1569)
This four-part series explores Florentine political history. Beginning with Etruscan foundations, it traces the story through Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the brilliance of the Renaissance, concluding with the end of the Republic in 1569.
Coming Soon
The Estate and the Country House in Scotland, circa 1700
A Case Study of Sir William Bruce’s Hopetoun House
Using Hopetoun House as a case study, this book studies the intertwined relationship between land management, estate development and country house construction in the early decades of the eighteenth century.
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