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Etruscan Art
The art of the Etruscans, who flourished in central Italy between the 8th and 3rd century BCE, is renowned for its vitality and often vivid colouring. Wall paintings were especially vibrant and frequently capture scenes of Etruscans enjoying...
Definition
Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante (c. 1444-1514 CE) was an Italian Renaissance architect whose most famous project was the design for a new Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, even if this work remained unfinished at his death. Bramante had also designed the influential...
Definition
Riace Bronzes
The Riace Bronzes, also known as the Riace Warriors, are a pair of bronze statues most likely sculpted in Greece in the mid-5th century BCE and rescued from the Ionian Sea near Riace Marina, Italy in 1972 CE. Slightly larger than life-size...
Definition
Western Astrology
Western astrology refers to a form of divination based on the motion of astronomical objects such as stars or planets. The belief that astronomical objects are divine or influence events on Earth is found in many cultures, but the practices...
Definition
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio (1508-1580 CE) was an Italian Renaissance architect most famous for the villas he designed in and around Vicenza and two large churches in Venice. Palladio blended elements of classical architecture, particularly the orders...
Definition
François Vase
The François Vase is a large Attic volute-krater dating to c. 570-565 BCE, and it is perhaps the example par excellence of the black-figure pottery style. An astonishing range of scenes and characters from Greek mythology cover the vase and...
Definition
Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430-1516 CE) was an Italian Renaissance artist best known for his innovative use of colour, interest in light, and emphasis on brushwork. Today, Giovanni is recognised as the most innovative and influential of the Bellini...
Definition
Marcello Malpighi
Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694) was an Italian scientist and physician famous for discovering the capillaries of the human circulatory system in 1661 and, as the greatest anatomist of the Scientific Revolution, founding the science of microscopic...
Definition
Mark Twain
Mark Twain is the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), an American humorist, journalist, lecturer, and novelist. He was the voice of his generation and one of the most celebrated authors of the late 19th century, writing some...
Definition
Cochineal
Cochineal is a brilliant red dye extracted from the crushed bodies of parasitic insects which prey on cacti in the warmer parts of the Americas. The dye was an important part of trade in ancient Mesoamerica and South America and throughout...