Gerriann Brower
@gbrower.bsky.social
She/hers. Writer, researcher, independent scholar: Italian art history. Wild about native plants. My blog has NO adverts: https://www.italianartfortravelers.com/
Claude Monet painted thirty-seven Venetian views. He called Venice “too beautiful to paint.” There are two Monet exhibits in the U.S. to see his Venetian paintings! Info in the post.
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/claude-...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/claude-...
Claude Monet in Venice
Claude Monet painted over 500 pictures in the last twenty-eight years of his life. Thirty-seven of those were Venetian views inspired by his 1908 stay. Monet became smitten with the city and regretted...
www.italianartfortravelers.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Claude Monet painted thirty-seven Venetian views. He called Venice “too beautiful to paint.” There are two Monet exhibits in the U.S. to see his Venetian paintings! Info in the post.
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/claude-...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/claude-...
I'm fascinated with two Renaissance friars who became painters - one was pious and later beatified. His art mirrors his faith. The other went rogue, fathered two children, married a ex-nun, and lived his life the way he wanted. Here's their story:
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/fra-ang...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/fra-ang...
Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi: One was Pious, One went Rogue
Two friars became renowned early Renaissance Florentine painters. Fra Angelico was a pious friar whose faith was mirrored in his art and was later beatified. Fra Filippo Lippi, the rogue friar, father...
www.italianartfortravelers.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:52 PM
I'm fascinated with two Renaissance friars who became painters - one was pious and later beatified. His art mirrors his faith. The other went rogue, fathered two children, married a ex-nun, and lived his life the way he wanted. Here's their story:
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/fra-ang...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/fra-ang...
The Holy Inquisition interrogated a Venetian artist in 1573, in an effort to bring artists in line with counter-reformation thinking. His stunning response gave voice to freedom of expression and pushed back against censorship. #Renaissance
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/verones...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/verones...
Veronese’s Inquisition and Response
Veronese was a celebrated sixteenth century Venetian artist and the only painter summoned by the Inquisition. We have the transcript of his interrogation before the tribunal of the Holy Inquisition, a...
www.italianartfortravelers.com
August 8, 2025 at 8:59 PM
The Holy Inquisition interrogated a Venetian artist in 1573, in an effort to bring artists in line with counter-reformation thinking. His stunning response gave voice to freedom of expression and pushed back against censorship. #Renaissance
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/verones...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/verones...
Watching the PBS series, Renaissance, the blood and beauty. It passes the test for historical accuracy. However, not a fan of the reenactments. Some of the costumes look like they shopped at TJ Maxx.
July 16, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Watching the PBS series, Renaissance, the blood and beauty. It passes the test for historical accuracy. However, not a fan of the reenactments. Some of the costumes look like they shopped at TJ Maxx.
What’s in a name? Fourteen times a pope has chosen Leo as his name. What inspired that selection? Here's a look at three past Pope Leos: one stood up to Attila the Hun, another avoided being poisoned, and one focused on worker’s rights.
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/pope-le...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/pope-le...
Pope Leos Past and Present
For the fourteenth time, the name Leo has been chosen by a pope. What made Leo a popular papal name? Some reasons point to lions, St. Mark, and St. Augustine. A look at three past Pope Leos reveals th...
www.italianartfortravelers.com
June 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
What’s in a name? Fourteen times a pope has chosen Leo as his name. What inspired that selection? Here's a look at three past Pope Leos: one stood up to Attila the Hun, another avoided being poisoned, and one focused on worker’s rights.
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/pope-le...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/pope-le...
Helping my dual citizenship daughter to vote absentee. Of course the Italians know how to do it colorfully. 🇮🇹
May 30, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Helping my dual citizenship daughter to vote absentee. Of course the Italians know how to do it colorfully. 🇮🇹
Today's the day! Ascension of Christ. Artists struggled with how to depict Christ leaving earth. Some just included his feet at the top of the painting, with the remainder of the body out of the pictorial space. Drawing after Giotto, Art Institute of Chicago. #Renaissance
May 29, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Today's the day! Ascension of Christ. Artists struggled with how to depict Christ leaving earth. Some just included his feet at the top of the painting, with the remainder of the body out of the pictorial space. Drawing after Giotto, Art Institute of Chicago. #Renaissance
Why was Pope Francis so intrigued with Caravaggio's Calling of St. Matthew? It has a lot to do with the Society of Jesus.
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/pope-fr...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/pope-fr...
Pope Francis and Caravaggio
Caravaggio’s Calling of St. Matthew was Pope Francis’ favorite painting. As a cardinal, he would often contemplate in situ, in the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi, near Piazza Navona. Wha...
www.italianartfortravelers.com
May 8, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Why was Pope Francis so intrigued with Caravaggio's Calling of St. Matthew? It has a lot to do with the Society of Jesus.
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/pope-fr...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/pope-fr...
Just love how "St. Peter as the First Pope" statue looks gnome-like with his Medieval miter. (Catalan, Met Museum, NY, 1348)
May 2, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Just love how "St. Peter as the First Pope" statue looks gnome-like with his Medieval miter. (Catalan, Met Museum, NY, 1348)
In 1179 Pope Alexander III (1159-1181) led the Lateran Council to abolish electing a pope unanimously, requiring instead two-thirds majority. What a guy! Here he is in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. Spinello Aretinio, Life of Alexander III, 1407.
May 2, 2025 at 12:37 AM
In 1179 Pope Alexander III (1159-1181) led the Lateran Council to abolish electing a pope unanimously, requiring instead two-thirds majority. What a guy! Here he is in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. Spinello Aretinio, Life of Alexander III, 1407.
Totally agree. He’s going after every institution.
What *movement* possesses equal power? They'll want to know what concessions are being offered too.
Yeah, working class people want something for risking their lives for people who don't give AF about them.
Ha.
Even the fucking consultants aren't unpaid volunteers.
😏
Yeah, working class people want something for risking their lives for people who don't give AF about them.
Ha.
Even the fucking consultants aren't unpaid volunteers.
😏
Guys, this is David Brooks in the NY Times. If it's like this 90 days into this presidency with people who wouldn't be caught dead saying it last year, imagine it in two years. Something good is happening, we just have to lift everybody up so they can see it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/o...
April 19, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Totally agree. He’s going after every institution.
Reposted by Gerriann Brower
“Some of this is happening under the guise of fighting antisemitism, and as a Jewish academic, it’s been disconcerting watching the dismantling of my life’s work in order to protect, I guess, me.”
What even is a university for, and will leadership at the University of Minnesota fight for it? My latest from @startribune.com. (Gift)
Opinion: If Trump comes for the University of Minnesota, will its leaders fight or fold?
I don’t know what happens next, but there’s plenty to do.
www.startribune.com
April 18, 2025 at 8:16 PM
“Some of this is happening under the guise of fighting antisemitism, and as a Jewish academic, it’s been disconcerting watching the dismantling of my life’s work in order to protect, I guess, me.”
This cat by Leonardo - still charming after 500 years. Drawings let us see the artist at work. Drawings are like fingerprints or handwriting, each with their own style and interests. www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/artists...
Artists at Work: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael Drawings
Drawings let us see the artist at work, thinking through problems. Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael’s drawings are like fingerprints or handwriting. Each had unique styles and methods of d...
www.italianartfortravelers.com
April 18, 2025 at 8:31 PM
This cat by Leonardo - still charming after 500 years. Drawings let us see the artist at work. Drawings are like fingerprints or handwriting, each with their own style and interests. www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/artists...
Created about 100 years after da Vinci's Last Supper, Tintoretto's version features an asymmetrical composition with a very different attitude. It's classic Tintoretto. (S. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, 1592-4) #renaissance
April 17, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Created about 100 years after da Vinci's Last Supper, Tintoretto's version features an asymmetrical composition with a very different attitude. It's classic Tintoretto. (S. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, 1592-4) #renaissance
Biographer Paolo Giovio described Leonardo da Vinci as "sparkling, generous, with an extraordinarily beautiful face." Happy Birthday, Leo! (detail of Cats, Lions, and a Dragon, 1513-17, black chalk, pen and ink, wash, Royal Collection Trust HM Charles III) #Renaissance
April 15, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Biographer Paolo Giovio described Leonardo da Vinci as "sparkling, generous, with an extraordinarily beautiful face." Happy Birthday, Leo! (detail of Cats, Lions, and a Dragon, 1513-17, black chalk, pen and ink, wash, Royal Collection Trust HM Charles III) #Renaissance
It's wild man day! Courtesy of Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1510 (Royal Trust, RCIN 912502).
April 12, 2025 at 6:32 PM
It's wild man day! Courtesy of Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1510 (Royal Trust, RCIN 912502).
Some good trouble going on today! Hands Off! Minneapolis
April 5, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Some good trouble going on today! Hands Off! Minneapolis
Victoria & Albert museum, London. Raphael’s cartoons for the Vatican tapestries. Or as my daughter said”Look at those rugs!”
March 29, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Victoria & Albert museum, London. Raphael’s cartoons for the Vatican tapestries. Or as my daughter said”Look at those rugs!”
Reposted by Gerriann Brower
Canada stands shoulder to shoulder with Greenland.
Today's dance expresses solidarity with the resilient Greenlandic Inuit people and all other communities who form the lovely fabric of Greenland.
Invaders may persist, but your resilience will prevail.
Today's dance expresses solidarity with the resilient Greenlandic Inuit people and all other communities who form the lovely fabric of Greenland.
Invaders may persist, but your resilience will prevail.
March 27, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Canada stands shoulder to shoulder with Greenland.
Today's dance expresses solidarity with the resilient Greenlandic Inuit people and all other communities who form the lovely fabric of Greenland.
Invaders may persist, but your resilience will prevail.
Today's dance expresses solidarity with the resilient Greenlandic Inuit people and all other communities who form the lovely fabric of Greenland.
Invaders may persist, but your resilience will prevail.
Feast of the Annunciation March 25. One of my favorites is Fra Angelico's in San Marco, Florence. 1438-45. Fresco in the hallway of the monastery. Those angel wings!
March 25, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Feast of the Annunciation March 25. One of my favorites is Fra Angelico's in San Marco, Florence. 1438-45. Fresco in the hallway of the monastery. Those angel wings!
It seems fitting to devote a post to mercenaries in March, the month named after the Roman god Mars, the god of war. March madness, mercenary style! www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/john-ha...
John Hawkwood, Mercenary
Mercenary armies played a pivotal role in conflicts. John Hawkwood was an English mercenary commander who earned fame and fortune in Italy.
www.italianartfortravelers.com
March 15, 2025 at 6:01 PM
It seems fitting to devote a post to mercenaries in March, the month named after the Roman god Mars, the god of war. March madness, mercenary style! www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/john-ha...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/john-ha...
It seems fitting to devote a post to mercenaries in March, the month named after the Roman god Mars, the god of war. March madness, mercenary style!
It seems fitting to devote a post to mercenaries in March, the month named after the Roman god Mars, the god of war. March madness, mercenary style!
John Hawkwood, Mercenary
Mercenary armies played a pivotal role in conflicts. John Hawkwood was an English mercenary commander who earned fame and fortune in Italy.
www.italianartfortravelers.com
March 15, 2025 at 6:00 PM
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/john-ha...
It seems fitting to devote a post to mercenaries in March, the month named after the Roman god Mars, the god of war. March madness, mercenary style!
It seems fitting to devote a post to mercenaries in March, the month named after the Roman god Mars, the god of war. March madness, mercenary style!
My favorite doge. Giovanni Bellini, 1501, Portrait of Doge Loredan, London, National Gallery of Art
February 13, 2025 at 3:11 AM
My favorite doge. Giovanni Bellini, 1501, Portrait of Doge Loredan, London, National Gallery of Art
All about a doge...the first doge, not the cypto or the other guy.
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/the-rea...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/the-rea...
The Real Doge
What is a doge? A canine meme, a crypto currency, or an attempt to create a department of government efficiency? None of the above. The firs
www.italianartfortravelers.com
February 11, 2025 at 3:57 PM
All about a doge...the first doge, not the cypto or the other guy.
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/the-rea...
www.italianartfortravelers.com/post/the-rea...