Portraits

portraits

Rudolf II: Habsburg hoarder, failed leader and Renaissance collector

The reclusive Habsburg ruler’s vast array of possessions occupied the fascinating and uncertain zone between collection and clutter.

Anna Parker January 19, 2023

portraits

Bertha Benz — the PR pioneer who introduced the world to the car

Tired of her husband's endless tinkering, Bertha Benz undertook the first long-distance journey in an automobile demonstrating its revolutionary potential.

Bryan Appleyard January 6, 2023

portraits

Alexander Leipunsky — the nuclear physicist who brought plutonium to the masses

Soviet nuclear physicist who survived the Stalin purges and the Nazis to pioneer liquid-metal fast breeder reactors in the USSR’s atomic programme.

Paul Josephson November 17, 2022

portraits

Iain Macleod — short-serving chancellor and lost Tory leader

Iain Macleod was an exceptional man and a uniquely gifted politician. He attracted a following among those who regarded themselves as left-of-centre Conservatives and had an especi..

Gerald Warner October 14, 2022

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