By Nina Heyn Victoria & Albert Museum, a sprawling red brick pile in the middle of Kensington, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in London, to the tune of almost four million visitors per year. The museum, which holds millions of objects and archival documents, is a mecca for anyone who is interested…
By Nina Heyn Traveling throughout Europe, you can make cultural discoveries almost everywhere you go. I recently visited the eastern Polish city of Lublin to check out an exhibition devoted to my favorite subject: women in art. The show, meticulously prepared for years by the Lublin branch of the National Museum, was provocatively titled, “A…
“I’m the busiest man in the world, and the most under pressure!“~ Peter Paul Rubens in a letter to Palamède Fabri de Valavez, January 1625 By Nina Heyn The image of a struggling, unappreciated artist doesn’t apply to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). As a child, he was accepted as a page at a noble house…
By Nina Heyn The Adriatic coast city of Ravenna is an absolute delight—a small, clean, northern-style town that is very walkable. There are several Romanesque basilicas decorated with mosaics that would floor even the most jaded tourist, and there are no crowds to see those jewels, especially when compared with the anxiety-inducing throngs of Florence…
By Nina Heyn A “must-see” list for Florence usually includes checking out Renaissance art at the Uffizi Gallery, having a quick look at Michelangelo’s David, and taking a walk to admire the incredible feat of architecture of the Florentine Duomo. However, there are many other less obvious art history treats in Florence. One of them,…