Images

A c. 1575 CE portrait of Elizabeth I of England (r. 1588-1603 CE) known as the 'Phoenix Portrait'. The work is by Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619) and is named after the pendant the queen wears hanging on her chest. The phoenix symbolizes regeneration...

A c. 1575 CE portrait of Elizabeth I of England (r. 1588-1603 CE) known as the 'Darnley Portrait' after its one-time owner. The queen is wearing a less feminine dress than in later portraits but still has her usual pearls, symbol of purity...

A c. 1592 CE portrait of Elizabeth I of England (r. 1588-1603 CE) known as the 'Ditchley Portrait' after the courtier Sir Henry Lee who commissioned it and who had estates at Ditchley near Oxford. It was painted by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger...

A painting by Taras Shevchenko. The artist created this work during his first trip to Ukraine. In this painting he portrayed a family scene near the house: a young couple is happy observing the first steps of their child. Oil on canvas...

Portrait of Prince of Transylvania Francis II Rákóczi, oil on canvas, 1712. Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest.

Part of Votive Panel of Jan Očko of Vlašim depicting Charles IV. Tempera on limewood, before 1371. National Museum, Prague.

The Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv was built in 1747–1755 by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The palace was designed for Empress Elizabeth I in the rococo style. Photo credits: Roman Naumov

A painting by Jan Matejko presenting Bohdan Khmelnytsky and Tugay Bey observing a miracolous appearance of St. John of Dukla. Oil on canvas, 1885. National Museum, Warsaw.

Tughra traditionally functioned as the signature or seal of the Ottoman sultans in a calligraphic way. Placed at the beginning of any official correspondence, it symbolized the sultanic authority. This monogram is the tughra of Suleiman the...

King of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Stanisław August enters St John's Cathedral of Warsaw, where Sejm members will swear to uphold the Constitution. Oil on canvas, 1891. Royal Castle, Warsaw.