Blog

painting of by Rosalba of herself holding a portait of her sister
Rosalba Carriera

Renowned painter of the Republic of Venice

colour drawing of a dancer in a crowd of men
La Goulue, queen of Montmartre

French can-can dancer at the famed Moulin Rouge in Paris

black and white cropped drawing of ballerina Fanny Elssler
Fanny Elssler, Austrian ballerina

One of the finest ballerinas of the Romantic era

a bronze bust of Rosa Luxemburg stands on a pedestal in a park. Her halflong hair bobs around her face, she stares defiantly into the distance.
Rosa Luxemburg: radical revolutionary

Her passion for revolution and justice sent shockwaves through German society

colour photograph of Kathleen McKane holding a tennis racket
Kathleen McKane Godfree

Champion tennis player in the 1920s

A decorated initial with images of flowers and animals, next to the calligraphed text of the manuscript 'Trojanerkrieg' by Konrad von Würzburg
The workshop of Diebold Lauber in Hagenau

Books with (and without) pictures

black and white photograph of a man wearing suit with a young girl holding a balloon standing behind him
Through the Lens of Masterji

Charting the South Asian community in Coventry and the West Midlands

black and white photograph of Titus Brandsma
Titus Brandsma, Dutch Catholic martyr

Exploring the archive of an influential priest and professor

Still frame from a video discussing medieval manuscripts. Two hands holding a very small codex positioned just above a large manuscript book. Both books have detailed calligraphy.
Video Series: Exploring the Medieval Manuscript Book

Join eight show-and-tell sessions with unique artefacts in the reading room of the Leiden University Library

black and white photo of Lalo Schifrin, Leo Right, Art Tailor, Dizzy Gillespie and Chuck Lemckin playing at a concert in Berlin
Black Royalty in Europe: ‘If Hitler had been against jazz, jazz had to be good’

Embracing jazz as an expression of freedom

black and white photograph, portrait of a man who wears a hooded garment
Herbert List in Greece

20th century photographer inspired by classical antiquity

Johannes Gutenberg looks at a freshly printed sheet. The printer, a man in an apron, and a young man are watching him. On the right a workbench with tools, possibly used for making the type.
From manuscript production to the printing press

How the page layout evolved during the early years of the printed book

Sidney Bechet playing the clarinet
Black Royalty in Europe: How Europe became a centre for jazz as countercultural avant-gard…

Black American musicians who mainstreamed jazz throughout Europe after the First and Second World War

a painting of a woman wearing a white bonnet sitting next to a window, a large lace pin cushion in front of her.
Lace, a labour of love

Follow the evolution of lace craft, from myth to machine

black and white portrait of a young Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu

India's renowned poet and freedom fighter

Radio on TV

Selected broadcast reports from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Landscapes from the Soul

Explore fusions of Chinese pictorial traditions and Western abstraction

colour image of two men wrestling in white costumes watched by a crowd
Lucha Canaria: wrestling from the Canary Islands

Traditional sport since prehistoric times

a porcelain figure of a man sitting down, wearing a long blue jacket with gold trim and gold tassels, his hair slicked back and ending in Victorian-style ruffles
Explorers of China, part 2

When Western traders and colonists set sail for China in the 17th Century, they found an empire focused solely on protectionism.

colour painting of three girls, one is sketching, the other two are watching
European Year Of Youth Colouring Book

Celebrate European Year Of Youth by colouring