Portraits

portraits

Ignacio Sánchez Mejías — sensationalist matador who brought celebrity to the corrida

Bullfighter, playwright and businessman — Ignacio Sánchez Mejías was constantly on the move.

Duncan Wheeler October 7, 2022

portraits

Gareth Evans — philosophy’s lost prodigy

During his short life, Evans was a figure of contention. Although his output was limited, his untimely death was a huge blow to British philosophy.

Lincoln Allison September 20, 2022

portraits

Jacobus Clemens non Papa – absolutely not the Pope

Jacobus Clemens' bawdy yet brilliant compositions provide an insight into the irreverent underbelly of the Renaissance.

James Hardie September 2, 2022

portraits

Alexander Helphand — impresario of revolutionary disaster who smoothed Lenin’s return to Russia

Ukrainian millionaire businessman, lauded for his business acumen, made an enormous contribution to the twentieth-century's dark history of violence - he was instrumental in suppor..

Catherine Merridale August 5, 2022

portraits

Charles Johnston: British diplomat who used a poet’s eye to fix the final phase of empire

His skill in defending British interests in the Middle East in the 1960s caught the eye of world leaders, even though his plans ultimately failed. Little matter though — his ideali..

Nigel Ashton July 22, 2022

portraits

Jaan Kross — a writer’s route to happiness

The novels of Estonian Jaan Kross, who endured both Nazi and Soviet occupation, provide a window into life under oppression.

Elisabeth Braw July 8, 2022

portraits

James Flint – a sino-pioneer ahead of his time

Possibly the first Briton to learn Mandarin, James Flint was a pathbreaker who tried to penetrate China's trade barriers and culture.

Kerry Brown July 1, 2022

portraits

Bartolus of Saxoferrato — a legal legend between two ages

The medieval mind behind the concept of popular sovereignty was a staunch imperialist whose ideas would nevertheless later lead to the death of empires.

Laurie Purnell Prynn June 22, 2022

portraits

William Shockley — accidental inventor of Silicon Valley

Genius physicist was about to change the world but he became a ridiculed footnote to history. His hubris is perhaps a lesson for today’s tech titans.

Andrew Keen June 11, 2022