Art

Before he was tamed by respectable Victorians, the archetypal, bibulous Briton, beloved of cartoonists and satirists, embodied all the virtues and vices of the late 18th century and the scandal-rocked Regency.

Though he had begun life as an energetic mercenary soldier, writes Alan Haynes, the Duke of Urbino became a celebrated humanist and a generous patron of contemporary art and learning.

J.S. Curtis charts the development of stringed keyboard instruments from the virginal and spinet, to the ‘forte-piano’.

During the 1730s, writes Michael Paffard, the modest and unassuming Duck achieved considerable fame.

W. Bruce Lincoln analyses the artwork that helped bridge the gap seperating revolutionary intellectuals in Russia, from the nation at large.

Joanna Richardson profiles a figure who carried her Republicanism to the edge, though not across the border, of Socialism.

Aileen Ribeiro describes the masquerades and concerts that took place in eighteenth century Soho, as devised by the socialite, opera singer, and adventuress from Vienna. 

The Renaissance in Italy, writes Alan Haynes, was enhanced by the arrival of scholars from Byzantium towards the end of the fourteenth century.

As Consul General for Great Britain in Egypt, Henry Salt established a friendly understanding with the free Albanian Viceroy Mohamed Ali. John Brinton describes how, through their relationship, Salt was able to rescue many treasures of ancient Egyptian art.

Michael Grant describes how, when Etruscan civilization burst into flower, among its most characteristic products was a wealth of splendid jewels.