Free Republic

Possible identity of "Mona Lisa of the North" has been revealed by a British art historian.A mysterious girl with a pearl earring from Johannes Vermeer's famous painting was likely the daughter of the painter's commissioner, a historian has revealed. The 17th-century Dutch painter Vermeer worked almost exclusively for Pieter van Ruijven and Maria de Knuijt, a Dutch husband and wife in Delft. This has been revealed by Andrew Graham-Dixon, the art historian and TV presenter, claiming the girl wearing the pearl earring in the renowned oil painting is likely the couple's daughter, Magdalene. The wealthy family were members of a...

John Cleese decided to cancel himself and call off a planned appearance at Cambridge University after a fellow attendee was "blacklisted" for doing an impersonation of Adolf Hitler. Taking to Twitter ahead of his planned appearance, Cleese, who is a Cambridge alumnus, noted that he was getting ahead of being "blacklisted" by calling off his appearance after art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon was blacklisted by Cambridge Union President Keir Bradwell for doing a mocking rant as Hitler to make a point in a debate about whether or not "good taste" exists. "I was looking forward to talking to students at the...