Giovanni da Udine, detail of border surrounding Raphael’s Cupid and Psyche, Villa Farnesina, Rome.

Fruit and Veg: The Sexual Metaphors of the Renaissance

Using peach and eggplant emojis as shorthand for sex may seem like a new thing, but Renaissance painters were experts at using produce to imply intercourse.
Preparatory sketches for a pittura infamante or shame painting by Andrea del Sarto

Punitive Portraits of the Renaissance

The Italian legal tradition called for the public display of a humiliating—but recognizable—portrait of the disgraced person.