This past weekend marked the beginning of the ancient Roman festival of Fornacalia, which was a nine-day festival ending on February 17. Though the name may sound X-rated, the festival was actually dedicated to bread and bread-baking. So is it just a coincidence that it sounds like “fornication”? Yes. Fornacalia gets its name from the…
Academic translation for historical research presents special challenges for the professional translator. In some cases, key concepts may have standard translations in the target language, so the translator must carefully research such terms. For instance, the French Marxist historian Lucien Febvre coined the phrase histoire vue d’en bas to describe a historical approach focused on…
The Frick Collection has just received the largest gift in its history: a collection of portrait medals from the Renaissance onwards given by Stephen K. Scher and Janie Woo Scher. To celebrate this donation, a selection of 100 of these medals will be on view today through September 12, 2017. The exhibition is organized by Aimee Ng, associate…
April 15 is the last day to see the standout show “Paris Refashioned, 1957-1968” curated by Colleen Hill at the Museum at FIT (closed Sundays and Mondays; admission is free). It’s a fascinating look at how the birth of ready-to-wear in France changed the fashion industry in ways that are still being felt today. As the market for…