Topics: art

April 3rd, 2016

Francesca Caccini’s life as a sixteenth century (female) composer

“What about your girls?” asks Elizabeth, the young pianist in Mr. Bach Comes to Call, “Didn’t you write any music for them?” The spirit of Johann Sebastian Bach, who has been happily sharing his life story, has to sheepishly explain to his young audience, “Well, Elizabeth, you see in those days, girls were different…” Of […]

November 18th, 2015

Authenticating art with a DNA database

While some folks claim to be unable to draw even a straight line, plenty of painters posses the skill necessary to recreate renowned paintings of such quality they’re indistinguishable from the original work.

August 26th, 2015

How to patch pained and punctured paintings

In college, one of my student jobs was to stand guard in the campus art gallery, politely reminding people not to use flash photography or get too close to the paintings and sculptures.

August 12th, 2015

Your eyes’ critical role in Mona Lisa’s famous smile

My first-grader didn’t know the Mona Lisa by name, but she recognized a picture of it. Painted around 1503, the Mona Lisa has bewitched viewers in a way it’s subject, Lisa del Giocondo, could only dream of.