Who is Ilaria Baratta

Peter della Vecchia's Alchemists: the uncanny allure of the grotesque

Grimaces and disproportionate bodies, exaggerated expressions, protruding noses and gnarled hands: these are the elements that strike the viewer at first glance in the painting depicting the three alchemists at work by Pietro della Vecchia (Vicenza, ...
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This is what the new layout of Siena's Pinacoteca Nazionale will look like: Marco Magni talks

At the Siena National Picture Gallery, work has begun on energy efficiency and the removal of architectural barriers that will last until June 2026, an opportunity, along with the movement of works, to rethink the museum's new layout in order to brin...
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Art history in reel format: more inclusion or risk of superficiality?

Scrolling through Instagram or Tik Tok, one notices a trend that is now rampant: that of wanting to simplify, to make everything easier, even studying: in fact, there are many content creators who have devoted themselves to simplifying school subject...
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The myth of Juno and Argos: this is why so many eyes decorate the peacock's tail

Nature has created true masterpieces in the animal world. One of the most jaw-dropping examples is the peacock: it is as if a painter from who knows where in the universe took pleasure in painting with extraordinary meticulousness an infinite number ...
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Keith Haring's Best Buddies: an ode to the universal concept of friendship

"Friends will be friends," sang the unforgettable Freddie Mercury. Words set to music that years later continue to express a simple and powerful truth: in life's challenges, in moments of joy but especially in moments of difficulty, it is good to kno...
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Jean Dubuffet and Venice: a complicated relationship

Jean Dubuffet's relationship with the city of Venice could be defined, in a jargon consonant with social media, as a "complicated relationship"; a sort of love-hate that began with a heavy rejection, continued with an idyll, and resurfaced a few year...
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Why do troubled artists fascinate us? A reflection

I found myself recently reflecting on how much the tormented souls of certain artists still exert a certain fascination after centuries, often to a greater degree than those artists whose art expresses perfection. And on how much this fascination is ...
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Story of Lucretia, the rape that radically changed the politics of ancient Rome

Lucretia 's is a tragic story. It is a story of rape in ancient Rome, but also of honor violated. And it is a story that ends in tragedy because so strong is the shame at the thought of being unjustly considered an adulteress, she who was completely...
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