The Payment of Dues. Georges de la Tour, 1630-35. Lviv Art Gallery, Ukraine (until 1940 – Lwów Art Gallery, Poland), ex Lubomirski collection. Photo: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. By Nina Heyn – Your Culture Scout Ever since precious metal coins were invented as a convenient alternative to barter, from Phoenicia to ancient China, they…

Portrait of Berthe Morisot by her sister Edma Morisot. 1865. Photo credit: Wikimedia commons. “I do not think any man would ever treat a woman as his equal, and it is all I ask because I know my worth.” Berthe Morisot in her notebook By Nina Heyn- Your Culture Scout As much or as little…

“Our goal is to invite the public to walk to the heart of the artwork.” Gianfranco Iannuzzi, artistic director and co-director of the exhibition “Van Gogh, Starry Night” By Nina Heyn- Your Culture Scout Crowded art exhibitions in major cities attest to our undying fascination with masterpiece paintings. Especially popular are retrospective exhibitions that allow…

Caravaggio. Narcissus. Ca. 1599. Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica di Palazzo Barbierini. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. “There was art before him and art after him, and they were not the same.” Robert Hughes, late Australian art critic on Caravaggio By Nina Heyn- Your Culture Scout There are several ways to enjoy art in Rome….

As part of Solari’s ongoing celebration of the year of da Vinci, we visited Milan and met with one of the city natives. Paola Jacobbi is a very respected Italian culture and entertainment journalist who has lived in Milan for most of her life. Paola joins Food for the Soul’s Nina Heyn to discuss Milan’s…

“When future generations look back to my time, it will probably be similar to how I now think of the past.” Wang Yi Zhi, famous Chinese calligrapher 303-361 AD By Nina Heyn – Your Culture Scout It would be impossible to track the history of human civilization if not for a fairly universal custom of…

“I have seen so many gems I did not expect to see in one place. No Venetian or papal collection can compare“- a papal envoy praising in 1560 a treasury collection of the Polish king Sigismund Augustus. By Nina Heyn – Your Culture Scout European countries tend to proudly display their royal crown jewels at…

By Nina Heyn – Your Culture Scout If you are a city school kid in Europe, no matter if attending an elementary or a high school, your class will be going to museums a lot. There will be field trips for history, geography or literature curriculum. There will be days of school holding final exams…

Solari Hero of the Year Leonardo da Vinci is the Solari Hero of the Year for 2019. On May 2, 2019, we celebrate the 500th anniversary of his passing. From Wikipedia: Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519), more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was an Italian…

“How many emperors and how many princes have lived and died and no record of them remains, and they only sought to gain dominions and riches in order that their fame might be ever-lasting.” Leonardo da Vinci
 By Nina Heyn – Your Culture Scout May 2, 2019 marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s…

“If you pay attention, nothing in nature stays the same for a single moment: You can’t be bored of nature, can you? Well, sometimes I’ll steal something from Van Gogh. I mean I do. Good artists don’t borrow, they steal.” David Hockney By Nina Heyn- Your Culture Scout There are two amazing facts about Vincent…

“There’s a drawing by Rembrandt, I think it’s the greatest drawing ever done. It’s in the British Museum and it’s of a family teaching a child to walk, so it’s a universal thing, everybody has experienced this or seen it happen. Everybody. I used to print out Rembrandt drawings big and give them to people…

“Leonardo is the perfect symbol both of the Renaissance and the modern man: complete, versatile, creative and future oriented“- Dr. Claudio Salsi, Director of Conservation of the Sforza Castle, Milan By Nina Heyn – Your Culture Scout Our year-long fascination with Leonardo’s legacy continues, fueled by various European exhibitions such as a celebration of his…

Excerpt: Full Length Interview: Subscriber Resources – Interview Audios Listen to the Interview MP3 audio file Download the Interview MP3 audio file Read the transcript of Food for the Soul with Nina Heyn “Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul.” ~ Dorothy Day By Catherine Austin Fitts This…

“Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.” Claude Monet By Nina Heyn – Your Culture Scout San Francisco’s De Young Museum is on a tearing streak as far as the milestone French artists are concerned. After Gauguin: A Spiritual Journey,…

“There is always a heavy demand for fresh mediocrity. In every generation the least cultivated taste has the largest appetite.” Paul Gauguin By Nina Heyn – Your Culture Scout By all accounts Paul Gauguin was not a nice man. In his quest for artistic expression he abandoned his long-suffering wife and kids, he practically drove…

“Ars longa, vita brevis. Art is long, life is short“- Hippocrates “Life, if well spent, is long” – Leonardo da Vinci By Nina Heyn -Your Culture Scout Imagine a designer whose technical designs remain mostly in the blueprint but never go into technical trials or a production line. Imagine a scientist who has to hide…

“In opposition to the general pessimism, I set the search for joy, for pleasure.” René Magritte By Nina Heyn, Your Culture Scout The Belgian artist René Magritte made his name as a surrealist in the 1930’s, joining a cultural movement that has been spreading since 1920’s and already included poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who coined the…

“I think people care. If not, why so many people spend money going on vacations to see architecture? They go to see the Parthenon, to Chartres, the Sydney Opera House. They go to Bilbao… Something compels them, and yet we live surrounded by everything but great architecture.” Frank Gehry By Nina Heyn, Your Culture Scout…

“Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs at one go.” ~ Truman Capote By Nina Heyn, Your Culture Scout May be there aren’t exactly “One Hundred Places You Need to Visit Before You Die” but Venice would definitely be nice to check out before you check out for good. For literally ages…