Medieval people used nanotechnology, researchers find
Nanotechnology is typically viewed as something that human beings are only now starting to make use of, and would be considered a technology of the future. However, a team of researchers has discovered that medieval artisans made use of some form of nanotechnology to create ultra-thin gilding material. But they still don’t know exactly how they did it.
King Milutin of Serbia: A Medieval Patron of the Arts
2021 marks 700 years since the death of Serbia’s King Stefan Uroš II Milutin (r. 1282–1321).
The tomb of the Black Prince reveals its secrets
A new analysis of the tomb of Edward the Black Prince – who was due to become the King of England – has shed new light on the ingenuity of royal artists in the 14th century.
15th-century tapestry on display again after conservation
A rare 15th-century tapestry – the oldest owned by the National Trust – is returning to display at Montacute House in southwestern England after spending four years away for conservation, but with it comes a mystery.
16th century shield returned to the Czech Republic
A stunning decorative shield, made in the sixteenth century, is returning to the Czech Republic after being looted by the Nazis nearly eighty years ago.
Giotto and the Early Italian Renaissance
The heritage of Rome and the influence of earlier traditions on artists like Cimabue, Duccio, Simone Martini and Giotto will be examined in the context of the ‘rebirth’ of the arts in Renaissance Italy.
Byzantine soft power in an age of decline, with Cecily Hilsdale
A conversation with Cecily Hilsdale about the coping strategies that late Byzantium used to counter, ameliorate, and reverse its imperial decline.
Armenian Art and Contested Lands
The virtual exhibition Ancient Faith: The Churches of Nagorno-Karabakh brings to the attention of international audiences the Armenian historic sites and cultural legacy of the contested region of Artsakh, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh.
Canterbury Cathedral’s windows date back to 12th century, study suggests
A group of windows from Canterbury Cathedral may be the earliest extant stained glass windows in England, according to a team of scientists from University College London and conservators from Canterbury Cathedral.
Medieval Scottish Patronage in France with Bryony Coombs
Talking about medieval artwork that connects France to Scotland. The first part of a conversation with Bryony Coombs.
Why is there an Egyptian obelisk in the hippodrome of Constantinople?, with Cecily Hilsdale
A conversation with Cecily Hilsdale about the history and ritual functions of Egyptian obelisks, from ancient Egypt down to Rome, Constantinople, and beyond.
Painting the Passion with Passion: Giotto and the Easter Story in Padua
Giotto’s frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, painted between 1303 and 1305, constitute one of the most beautiful, most coherent and most complete decorative schemes to have survived the ravages of time, the changes of taste, and the vagaries of flood, fire and other ‘Acts of God’.
Study examines the creation of lotus-pattern tiles in Tang Dynasty
The researchers conducted an investigation of 449 tile ends with lotus patterns from various periods during the Tang dynasty that had been recovered from the Ximing Temple.
Museum offers best new online view of the Bayeux Tapestry
Making use of 2.6 billion pixels, the most detailed digital version of the Bayeux Tapestry has been released online. It offers unprecedented views of the 11th-century embroidery.
From India to Byzantium, with Paroma Chatterjee
A conversation with Paroma Chatterjee on Indian perspectives and approaches to Byzantium.
Online Dante exhibition released by the Uffizi
The Uffizi Galleries in Florence have launched a new online exhibition to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri. It will showcase dozens of illustrations created in the sixteenth century to showcase The Divine Comedy.
What microbiologists see when they look at Da Vinci’s drawings
The microbial composition of art pieces can reveal interesting facts about their past and the journey they made.
Armenian Art, with Christina Maranci
A conversation about Armenian art – ancient and Christian – with Christina Maranci, based on her book The Art of Armenia: An Introduction.
Norway – Catalonia: Medieval Art, a shared artistic heritage
The online conference is part of the collaboration on the exhibition “North & South”, which brings together, for the first time, a selection of examples of medieval altar art from Norway and Catalonia, two regions at the northern and southern edge of the continent.
From Slide Projectors to Rosslyn Chapel, with Lizzie Swarbrick
What can we learn about art and architecture in medieval Scotland? On this episode of Scotichronicast, Kate Buchanan is joined by Lizzie Swarbrick to discuss Lizzie’s journey to studying Rosslyn Chapel and other Scottish churches.
Portrait of Mehmed the Conqueror returns to Istanbul
There are only three surviving portraits of the Ottoman ruler Mehmed II, better known as Mehmed the Conqueror. One of them has just been purchased by the city of Istanbul for £777,000.
New way of dating medieval paintings revealed
They have been able to prove their methods by examining wall paintings from the Late Middle Ages in a castle in Burgundy and a church in Switzerland.
Medieval Graffiti with Matthew Champion
This week’s episode of The Medieval Podcast is about one of the places where art and memory, serious messages and playful doodles intersect: graffiti.
Finding Sir Lancelot in Medieval Poland
Today, being the world’s only Lancelot wall paintings preserved in situ, the Siedlęcin set ranks among the most outstandingly complete and well preserved in Europe.