Art history

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John Higgs discusses the extraordinary life and art of William Blake – an eccentric outsider once dismissed as a madman, but now hailed as a genius. (Image by Getty Images)

William Blake: “artist or genius, or mystic, or madman” . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Sometimes described as England’s Leonardo, Hans Holbein the Younger painted the great and the good of Tudor society. Franny Moyle chronicles his incredible art and tempestuous life. (Image by Getty Images)

Painting the Tudors: Hans Holbein the Younger . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Cynthia Saltzman reveals how the French leader plundered Europe’s greatest works of art. (Image by Getty Images)

Napoleon the art thief . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Zdeněk Burian’s painting from 1952 offers a sympathetic portrayal of Neanderthals practising cannibalism. Self-assurance, even contentment, emanate from “It appears as a calm response to death, rather than murderous carnage,” writes Rebecca Wragg Sykes. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)

Neanderthal in the mirror: our changing perceptions of these ancient humans . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Drawing of an old and young man, possibly Salai, by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci’s private relationships: what’s known?

Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo

Leonardo & Michelangelo: rivalry and inspiration

Leonardo da Vinci’s full-scale cartoon drawing of Isabella d’Este

Leonardo da Vinci’s patrons: the people who paid for the masterpieces

Salt cellar with Neptune and Tellus by Benvenuto Cellini

Benvenuto Cellini How the 'bad boy' sculptor gives us a fresh perspective on the Renaissance

'The Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings: a guide to 8 famous works

Da Vinci's sketch 'The Vitruvian Man'. Da Vinci's talents ranged from anatomy to military engineering, and many of his innovations were not explored further for several centuries. (Photo by: Photo12/UIG via Getty Images)

Your guide to Leonardo da Vinci: his life, inventions and milestones in his career

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Jennifer Higgie charts the story of women’s self-portraits over the last 500 years of western art – uncovering tales of transgressive self-expression and overcoming oppression. (Image by Getty Images)

500 years of women’s self-portraits . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Michelangelo was a Renaissance sculptor, painter and visionary. This 17th-centruy portrait was completely shortly after his death

Your guide to Renaissance sculptor and painter Michelangelo

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Jerry Brotton describes the astonishing life and career of the Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini – a story of murder, plague, imprisonment and even necromancy. (Image by Getty Images)

Cellini: the “supreme scoundrel of the Renaissance” . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of a 17th century plague doctor

Fake history Hunting down false facts about the past

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Mary Hollingsworth discusses her new book, Princes of the Renaissance, which charts the wars and alliances between the powerful Italian families of the 15th and 16th centuries. (Image by Getty Images)

Formidable dynasties of the Italian Renaissance . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.