History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
Francis Bacon's studio was a mountain of rubbish
Some artists need a clean workspace; Bacon required a literal biohazard. His studio was an impenetrable mountain of empty paint tubes, rotting food, smashed…
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New Zealand's glowing caves hide carnivorous larvae
Tourists flock to these majestic subterranean caverns to admire what looks like a beautiful, starry night sky. In reality, the magical glow is produced by…
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Rouault burned 315 of his own paintings
Taking quality control to an absolutely unhinged level, Rouault decided that his older works were no longer up to his standards. He ruthlessly tossed exactly…
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The composer who counted leaves on trees
Genius comes with some truly spectacular neuroses. Bruckner suffered from severe arithmomania, compelling him to frantically count everything in his path,…
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This artist let gravity make his collages
Deciding that human intention was totally overrated, this Dadaist let gravity do the hard work. He stood over a canvas, dropped perfectly torn squares of…
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A preserved body still attends college meetings
Refusing to let something as trivial as death interrupt his influence, the founder of utilitarianism demanded his body be preserved. His skeletal remains,…
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New Zealand is the tip of a sunken continent
Geologists finally realized that New Zealand wasn't just an isolated island chain, but the highest peak of a massive, mostly drowned continent. It spans…
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A lost continent is hiding under Mauritius
Turns out, you can just carelessly misplace an entire landmass. Geologists discovered ancient crustal fragments buried deep under the volcanic island of…
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The painter whose speed made rivals suspicious
In an era where oil paintings took months of painstaking labor, Tintoretto worked with such aggressive speed that his rivals genuinely thought he was running…
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This volcano burns with blue fire
Ditching the traditional red and orange aesthetic, this volcano looks like it belongs on another planet. High concentrations of sulfuric gas ignite instantly…
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Mendelssohn rescued Bach's music from a butcher's shop
History almost lost the greatest Baroque masterpieces to a meat shop. Decades after Bach died in obscurity, Mendelssohn stumbled upon his glorious…
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Chopin wanted his unfinished music burned
Terrified of leaving behind anything less than absolute perfection, the dying pianist demanded all his unfinished drafts be thrown into the fire. Thankfully,…
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The extravagant collection that bankrupted Rembrandt
Financial literacy was decidedly not this Dutch master's strong suit. Despite earning a massive fortune from his portraits, Rembrandt obsessively hoarded…
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The volcano that grows towers of ice
Because extreme cold isn't dramatic enough, this Antarctic volcano casually grows massive, jagged ice chimneys. Hot volcanic gases vent up to the freezing…
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When Foucault threw acid at police
Taking his critiques of structural power dynamics very literally, the famed French theorist didn't just write about oppressive regimes. During the fierce…
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Matisse painted massive murals using a charcoal stick
Refusing to let physical decline stop his creative output, an elderly Matisse attached charcoal to the end of a massive bamboo pole. He successfully mapped…
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The ordinary funeral that scandalized the art world
In an era where massive canvases were strictly reserved for glorious mythological heroes, Courbet painted a giant, incredibly boring funeral of an ordinary…
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Ravel turned down France's highest honor
Proving that some artists genuinely despise the establishment, Ravel was offered the Legion of Honour and rejected it without a second thought. He wanted…
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Vivaldi wrote concertos for orphaned girls
Rather than touring Europe like a typical rockstar composer, the Baroque master spent most of his adult life working at a Venetian home for abandoned girls.…
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Why old paintings have eerie yellow sunsets
Those dramatic, violently yellow and orange sunsets in early nineteenth-century European art weren't just stylistic choices. Painters were actually…
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Modigliani traded sketches for meals
Before his elongated portraits sold for millions, Modigliani was just a starving artist trying to survive Paris. He frequently dashed off brilliant,…
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Cezanne literally threw rejected paintings out the window
Handling criticism with the grace of a toddler, the post-impressionist would fly into violent rages when a painting wasn't working. He frequently tossed…
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Nietzsche’s breakdown began with a horse
The man who proudly declared the death of god finally cracked under the pressure of his own genius. Witnessing a carriage driver aggressively whipping a horse…
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Tchaikovsky's patron funded him without meeting him
Imagine funding someone's entire lifestyle but finding them too insufferable to look at. Nadezhda von Meck gave Tchaikovsky a massive allowance for thirteen…
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