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We Got a Webby Nomination! 🎉

Big news: MuseMuse just got nominated for a Webby Award for Best Art & Culture App—aka the Oscars of the Internet. Among 13,000 entries, we made it into the top 12%.

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But here’s the thing: we need your vote. Webby winners are decided by a very official jury of… the internet. That’s you. Your friends. Your barista. Every vote counts.

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🗳️ Vote here → vote.webbyawards.com

Deadline to vote: April 18th.

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In the meantime, we’ll keep doing what we do best: helping you explore the world through art.

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So thank you art lovers! And thank you to everyone who’s ever wanted more from a museum visit and thought, “There has to be a better way.” There is. It’s called MuseMuse. And apparently, it’s Webby-worthy!

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Cheers - MuseMuse

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How to recognize these 5 Christian martyrs in paintings

Christian martyrs are often remembered through grim attributes that serve as poignant reminders of the agonizing ordeal they endured due to their faith.

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1. Saint Laurence

Patron saint of cooks, chefs, and comedians

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Burned on a rack

As he endured the excruciating torment of being cooked, the story goes that he turned to his tormentors and calmly uttered:

“I’m done on this side, flip me over”

*Francisco de Zurbarán, "Saint Laurence" (1636)*

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2. Saint Sebastian

Patron saint of soldiers, archers, and plague

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‍Shot by arrows

His survival from a rain of arrows did little to sway the Roman emperor who had issued his death sentence. He was then brutally beaten, and his lifeless body cast aside into a sewer.

*Tommaso,"Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian" (15th century)*

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3. Saint Catherine

Patron saint of girls, students, philosophers, and craftsmen working with wheels

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Breaking wheel

Initially condemned to the breaking wheel, she left onlookers astounded when the wheel disintegrated at her mere touch. As the execution proceeded with a beheading, legend has it that instead of blood, a milk-like substance flowed from her severed neck...

*Caravaggio, "Saint Catherine of Alexandria" (1598)*

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4. Saint Peter Martyr

Patron saint of inquisitors and midwives

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Murdered by cleaver

Vengeful Venetian nobles hired his assassins in response to Peter's persecution of heretics.

*Pedro Berruguete, "Saint Peter the Martyr" (c. 1493-1499)*

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5. Saint Lucy

Patron saint of the blind

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Eyes removed

Paschasius commanded his guards to remove her eyes when she prophesied his impending punishment. Another version has Lucy taking her own eyes out in order to discourage a persistent suitor who was captivated by them.

*Domenico Beccafumi, "Saint Lucy" (1521)*

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Extra

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A shared symbol among all martyrs is the palm leaf of victory, reminiscent of what Greek or Roman athletes received upon winning sporting contests. Martyrs are victorious in death, reborn in Heaven.

Spot a palm leaf - Spot a martyr!

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Fun Facts

4 Stunning Ceilings in Rome You Must See (That Aren't the Sistine Chapel)

Fun Facts

Caravaggio: From Painter to Murderer on the Run

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio didn't just paint scenes of violence and darkness, he lived them. The revolutionary Baroque painter who transformed art history was also a murderer, who spent his final four years creating masterpieces while running from execution.

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The Murder

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On May 28, 1606, Caravaggio got into a fight over a tennis match with a man named Ranuccio Tomassoni. Swords were drawn. When it ended, Tomassoni lay dead and Caravaggio had a severe wound to his head. Whether it was self-defense or murder, 16th-century Roman law didn't care. The penalty was death by beheading.

Caravaggio fled Rome with a price on his head. The papal edict declared that anyone could kill him without consequence and bring his head to authorities for a reward. He would never return to Rome alive.

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Painting on the Run

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What's extraordinary is that Caravaggio produced some of his greatest works while on the run. He escaped to Naples, then Malta, then Sicily, painting masterpieces at each stop to earn the protection from powerful patrons. Each painting grew darker, more dramatic, and more violent than the last.

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A dramatic painting showing a man holding the severed head of John the Baptist on a platter, surrounded by two women. The scene is dark and intense, evoking a somber mood. — Caravaggio’s *Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist* (c.1609–10)

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In Malta, he painted the beheading of John the Baptist: the only work he ever signed, inscribing his name in the saint's spilled blood. The painting's brutal realism came from a man who knew exactly what execution looked like, who painted it while awaiting the same fate.

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Caravaggio’s *The beheading of St. John the Baptist* (1608)

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The Self-Portraits

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Caravaggio had a macabre habit: he painted himself as martyrs and murder victims in his religious works. In David with the head of Goliath (1609–10), the severed head is Caravaggio's self-portrait. In The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599–1600), he painted himself as a bystander witnessing murder. He seemed obsessed with his own death.

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Caravaggio’s *David with the head of Goliath* (1609–10)

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Caravaggio’s *The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew* (1599–1600 ) / Can you spot Caravaggio? Try the figure to the left of centre

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The Mysterious End

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In 1610, Caravaggio received word that the Pope might pardon him. He boarded a boat to Rome, carrying three final paintings as gifts to secure his clemency. But he never arrived.

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He died under mysterious circumstances at age 38 on a beach in Porto Ercole. Fever? Murder by bounty hunters? Revenge by Tomassoni's family? No one knows.

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His body was lost for 400 years, until DNA testing in 2010 identified remains in a church ossuary as likely Caravaggio's, showing lead poisoning consistent with paint exposure. The paintings he carried that day have never been found.