Heraldry is a fascinating and complex system by which coats of arms are devised and decoded. My familial arms—yes, my family has a coat of arms, and yours may have too—are composed of an intricate grouping of objects, including a… More»
There’s been a lot of talk about shopping over the past few days, from Black Friday to Cyber Monday (now expanded to Cyber Week). In late medieval Florence, shopping—for art—was also all the rage. In the years leading up to the… More»
There’s been almost seven hundred years of chatter about Giotto di Bondone (about 1267–1337), a painter from Florence considered one of the greatest artists of all time. After six years of careful planning and negotiation, we at the Getty Museum are… More»
Remarkably realistic for medieval illuminated beasts, which were often fabulous admixtures of fantasy and fur. The unicorn is clearly drawn from life, for example.