Masterpieces & Mystery
History’s Mysteries Part 1 of 4
Rather than begin our art history exploration with a severe and clinical examination of Roman architecture or the Surrealists, or some other academic topic, I thought we’d have some fun.
Everyone loves a compelling mystery, yes?
Well, the arts have some of the most incredible and exciting mysteries — and easily outshine the most popular reality crime drama. History’s mysteries include stories of pirates and hidden treasure. Lost artwork. Mysterious deaths. Unreadable manuscripts. Accusations of murder. Theft. Fraud.
And none are easily solved.
INVESTIGATIVE APPROACH
Unlike a modern crime mystery, historical mysteries are difficult to solve. We need to be an Indiana Jones, putting together clues that are often not straightforward.
We do want to use reliable and relevant evidence — and we don’t want to just jump to conclusions. An unscientific approach would cause Hercule Poirot to grumble with disdain. Yet, we do not often have direct evidence, like DNA or other physical evidence. Or correspondence. Or witness testimony.
Until we figure out how to swear-in dead people to testify, we have to rely on indirect evidence. Circumstantial evidence. Conjecture. Expert opinion. Related…
