Browse Items (202 total)

Hyacinthe Rigaud’s “Portrait of Louis XIV” serves as an idyllic artistic illustration of the mechanisms of Absolutism which Louis XIV established in France. The monarch, who was well into his sixties during the time of this portrait, is depicted in…

Enlightenment ideals were not, on the surface at least, confined to just the leading intellectuals of the time. European monarchs began attaching themselves to Enlightenment principles and thinkers. For instance, the French philosopher Voltaire…

After 1450, humanism began to spread from its roots in Florence -- long regarded as a hub for scholars -- to Vienna, Heidelberg, and the royal seats of England, France, and Spain (Wiesner-Hanks, 140). Scholars traveled all over Europe, carrying their…

While strategic marriages for either resources or power have always been present in European history, their importance during the renaissance cannot be understated. The marriages of Maximilian the I (top left) and subsequent marriages that he planned…

This painting of Desiderius Erasmus captures the character of the Dutch humanist writer and demonstrates the strong humanist presence in the Low Countries. Erasmus situated himself in a central position in the intellectual world of the Renaissance.…

The papacy of Clement IX lasted only thirty months, from the summer of 1667 to December 1669. His papacy is primarily remembered if at all for a truce of sorts in the Jansenist controversy, discussed later in this exhibit, but Clement IX was also…

The painting uses oil paint applied on canvas.

Authored by Plato’s student Aristotle, Politics is a collection of writings on different political constitutions (though we have a conception of a constitution as a written document, “political constitution” as used by Aristotle is synonymous with…

The bust (pictured above) depicts Plato. Regarded as one of the greatest thinkers of Classical Greece, the study of Plato and his works was prevalent throughout the Renaissance (one example can be seen in "The School of Athens," an item found in the…

This painting, by Josse Lieferinxe, was completed in 1497 and depicts a group of diseased and injured pilgrims visiting the tomb of St. Sebastian, the patron saint of soldiers and the plague-stricken. Lieferinxe was originally from the Southern…

This building was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), who oversaw its construction for the first decade after the start of its commission in 1419. It is both an excellent example of Renaissance architecture by a recognized master artist,…

Early modern scholars were divided on the issue of controlling colonies in Spain. Some saw holding power over colonies as beneficial for the wealth they provided, while others saw them as a distraction.
Colonies provided Spain with massive amounts…