Manneken Pis is a symbol of Brussels, but I will start this post with a fountain from another place. One of my favourite cities in Europe is Prague: full of wonderful places perfect for walking around, resting and admiring artworks. Surely one of such places is Wallenstein Garden (Valdštejnská zahrada)…
Mysterious cult of a Saint Hound
A few years ago, when I wrote about looted middle part of Lusina altarpiece (National Museum in Cracow, war loss – post available HERE) I mentioned several – often contradictory – interpretations for a dog in medieval art. On one hand it could have symbolised faithfulness, but on the other…
Merry children’s games from past centuries
My previous post was dedicated to female artists in the Middle Ages; of course artistic activities of women are better documented when it comes to the Early Modern Times. One of the known female artists was an engraver Claudine Bouzonnet-Stella (1636-1697). She was a daughter of a goldsmith named Étienne…
Medieval female self-portraits
I have a feeling that lately a fashionable topic became (lack of) women among Old Masters of art. It is undoubtedly true that the most famous Old Masters are male, and that in past centuries women had much more limited options when it comes to making any career. It is…
Copy, imitation or forgery?
Recently I had a pleasure to visit (last-minute visit, just before it closed) exhibition “Falza? Falza!” (“Forgery? Forgery!”) at the National Gallery in Prague. Among artworks on loan there were some famous forgeries by Han van Meegeren (I wrote about those earlier, HERE). The exhibition presented various – however somehow…