Kirsten Tambling is a freelance writer in London. Her book, Shakespearean Objects in the Royal Collection, 1714–1939, will be published by Oxford University Press.

Detail showing the ‘second cabinet’ on page 50 of the Catalogue des Tableaux de Mr Julienne (c. 1756), compiled by Jean-Baptiste-François de Montullé. Morgan Library and Museum, New York

Getting the hang of it – a look inside the home of an 18th-century collector in Paris

An illustrated inventory made for Jean de Jullienne shows us how his paintings were displayed

29 Apr 2020
Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera (1717), Antoine Watteau. Musée du Louvre, Paris, Photo: © Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN-Grand Palais

Fashion forward – the dashing designs of Antoine Watteau

The artist’s fashion etchings hint at the delight in transient pleasures that is so evident in his paintings

11 Apr 2020
The Poor Cat, (1832), Louis-Léopold Boilly. The Ramsbury Manor Foundation, photo: © The trustees of the Ramsbury Manor Foundation

The painter who took a prudent approach to the French Revolution

Louis-Léopold Boilly was a peculiarly adaptable painter in turbulent times

6 Mar 2019
Pamela and Mr B. in the Summer House, by Joseph Highmore, Joseph Higmore, The Fitzwilliam Museum.

The Foundling Museum brings Joseph Highmore out of the shadows

Joseph Highmore’s morality tales are just as engaging as those of his contemporary William Hogarth

10 Oct 2017