In Pursuit of Pith
Flowers formed from pith paper captured the imagination of British society in the 19th century, sparking a search for the elusive ‘rice paper’ plant.
Art
Susanna and the Elders
An innocent woman resists two sexual predators, only to face a trial that reveals their guilt.
Dolphins of the Belfiore
Does the intelligent sea mammal, long associated with Venus, the goddess of love, offer a clue to a lost jewel of the Renaissance?
Et in Arcadia Ego
Even in a pastoral idyll, there is death.
The Dead Christ
Holbein the Younger’s image still startles 500 years after its creation.
Venus and Mars
Love conquers all in Botticelli’s sensuous mythological masterpiece.
To Frame a Painter
A society portraitist who emigrated to Britain from Hungary found himself embroiled in a drama of divided loyalties during the First World War.
Laocoön
A warning is ignored and a city falls in El Greco’s lurid depiction.
Judith and Holofernes
A tale of female revenge, power and solidarity.
Portrait of the Portrait Artist
Holbein’s creative life during three decades of extraordinary political, religious and intellectual turbulence.