Images

The facade of the National Palace in Mexico City, once seat of the viceroy of New Spain when part of the Spanish Empire.

The Compte Rendu Au Roi (1781) was the first account of French royal finances to go public. Its publication caused a sensation throughout Europe, as it was translated into 5 different languages. Its success caused its author, finance minister...

Portrait of Suzanne Curchod (1739-1794), oil on canvas by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, c.18th century. One-time fiance to British writer Edward Gibbon, Suzanne was the wife of France's popular finance minister Jacques Necker and the mother to...

The coat of arms of the European Principality Liechtenstein, which features a Harpy.

An illustration of a harpy in Ulisse Aldrovandi's Monstrorum Historia, Bologna, 1642.

An engraving of the harpies in the Forest of Suicides by Gustave Doré illustrating Canto XIII of Divine Comedy, Inferno, by Dante Alighieri.

Exercitia Spiritualia by Ignatius of Loyola, engraving by Gilles Rousselet, 1644. Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago.

Allégorie révolutionnaire ("Allegory of the revolution") by Nicolas Henri Jeaurat de Bertry, 1794. It was made in honor of Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), whose portrait is seen at the top of the painting. Rousseau...

Portrait of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1824) during his tenure as 1st United States Secretary of State, oil on canvas painting by Charles Willson Peale, 1791. Independence National Historic Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A 1615 illustration showing the members of the audiencia of Lima, Peru. The audiencia was an important element of local government, justice, and commerce in the major cities of the Spanish empire. (Royal Library, Copenhagen)