The Miseries of War Part 2, Crimes of a Nascent State

Plate 11, The Strappado

Last week I wrote about an 18-plate series of 17th-century engravings by the prolific artist, Jacques Callot. Published in 1633, The Miseries of War provides a visual account of the Thirty Years War that ravaged Europe between 1618 and 1648. In my previous post, I presented plates 1 through 9.…

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The Miseries of War, 400-Year-Old Portrayal of Treachery

Plate 11, The Hanging

Several years ago, I was visiting friends in Chicago and looking for some free exhibits to see downtown. We noticed that there was a Day of the Dead exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center that looked interesting. The assembled collection was fun and informative, complete with works of art, photographs,…

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How Victor Hugo Saved Notre Dame de Paris

Caricature of Victor Hugo

My series of posts about a new exposition featuring the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris only covered a small fraction of the subjects tackled by the entire exhibit. There is much more to say and if you enjoyed the series, I hope you find time to visit the online exposition.…

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