Images

An 1875 oil on canvas, Fair-haired Woman on a Sofa (aka Mette Asleep on a Sofa), by Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), the French post-impressionist painter. Gauguin married Mette-Sophie Gad (1850-1920) in November 1873. They lived apart for most...

A 1902 oil on canvas, A Walk by the Sea (aka Bathers), by Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), the French post-impressionist painter. Painted in the Marquesas near the artist's hut. A work that shows Gauguin's slightly different palette compared to...

A map illustrating the ever-growing and ever-changing trade network of maritime and overland routes connecting China, India, and the Far East with the Middle East and Europe. Even though the term "Silk Road" was not defined until the late...

A c. 1550 portrait of Henry II of Navarre (r. 1517-55). He married Marguerite de Navarre (l. 1492-1549) in 1526. (Musée Condé, Château de Chantilly, France)

A portrait by François Clouet of Marguerite de Navarre (l. 1492-1549), Queen of Navarre. (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris)

The coat of arms of Marguerite de Navarre (l. 1492-1549), Queen of Navarre.

A 16th-century portrait of the French jurist and historian Florimond de Raemond (1540-1601).

A c. 1450 tarot card showing a female pope, perhaps inspired by the story of Pope Joan who was a legendary female pope of the Middle Ages said to have reigned from 855 to 858. Her existence is disputed. From the Visconti-Sforza tarot deck...

A 1645 illustration showing a cardinal checking that Pope Innocent X (in office 1644-55) is indeed a man.

A 15-16th century manuscript illustration of Pope Joan, a legendary female pope of the Middle Ages said to have reigned from 855 to 858. Her existence is disputed. (Bibliothèque nationale de France).