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How a Volcano Gave Us the Bicycle

From the invention of the "running machine," to the birth of meteorology, let's examine a few bright spots that appeared after Tambora's tragic…

57 mins ago •

Frankenstein, Yunnan, and the Opium Trade

The Year Without a Summer inspired authors from England to Southwestern China. But horrific famines would also compel farmers to turn to a lucrative…

Aug 17 •

The Year Without a Summer

Mount Tambora's 1815 eruption was the largest volcanic event in recorded history, with broad implications for the global climate, agriculture, the arts…

Aug 10 •

Last Call at the Café: Manet's Final Years

In the last installment of our series, we examine Édouard Manet's work at the end of his life.

Jul 29 •

A "War on Beauty": Manet and the Impressionists

Manet refused to participate in the First Impressionist Exhibition. Nevertheless, his name was inexorably tied to the Impressionists and their radical…

Jul 24 •

Édouard Manet in the Shadow of War

All was well at the Café Guerbois, until Manet, Degas, and their friends heard the news: France had declared war on Prussia.

Jul 18 •

Manet Breaks the Fourth Wall

After the 1865 Salon, Édouard Manet befriends a young group of painters with wild ideas, and finds himself again at the center of controversy.

Jul 11 •

"Some Wretched Frenchman"

Édouard Manet shows "Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe" at the Salon des Refusés, and becomes the most notorious painter in Paris.

Jul 5 •

Rejection and Family Secrets: The Early Days of Manet's Career

In the next installment of our series, we learn about Édouard Manet's initial setbacks and the secret at the heart of his personal life.

Jun 27 •

How Manet Became an Artist

In the first essay of the series "The Life of Édouard Manet," we learn how Manet finally embraced his passion for painting.

Jun 20 •

Evelyn De Morgan and the End of Pre-Raphaelite Art

A brilliant female artist finally gets her moment in the sun.

Jun 4 •

The Many Faces of "The Lady of Shalott"

Alfred, Lord Tennyson's enigmatic poem inspired many Pre-Raphaelite adaptations.

May 27 •

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