art and state

Examines the role art can play and should play in contemporary society.

Chronicles the friendship between Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and Josef Stalin, discussing how Stalin used their friendship to exploit Shostakovich's work and mental instabilities and how Shostakovich's compositions were impacted by Stalin's totalitarian rule.

Examines the art and culture of Italy during the fifteenth century, including the lesser-known duchies and courts as well as the more famous cities.

Presents a comprehensive analysis of two landmark paintings that celebrated the coronation of Napoleon including "Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne" and Jacques-Louis David's "Le Sacre.".

Examines the activities of some of the prominent men in the world of art who chose to cooperate and collaborate with the Nazi regime; and argues that a network of these experts, rehabilitated after the war, is a key to the looted artworks still unaccounted for at the end of the twentieth century.