We recently visited Surgeons' Hall Museum in Edinburgh, home to one of the world's oldest surgical institutions. From the recreated Anatomy Theatre to the infamous Burke and Hare collection and the surprising Sherlock Holmes connection, the History of Surgery Gallery is one of the most remarkable museum experiences in Scotland.

Joseph Maclise, a surgeon and illustrator, published an extraordinary book that elevated medical illustration. Today we're learning about his book, Surgical Anatomy, and studying some truly mesmerising studies of the human body as you've never seen them before.

In 1601, a Jesuit priest in Antwerp published a book of 100 allegorical engravings designed to communicate complex ideas. It was part illustrated guide, part work of art, and it remains one of the most visually inventive books of the entire Baroque era. Today we're taking a closer look at Jan David's Veridicus Christianus and the extraordinary images at its heart. Let's go!

Discover Paulus Pontius, the Flemish engraver who turned Rubens' paintings into prints seen across seventeenth-century Europe, and later worked with Van Dyck and Jordaens

What would make a 52-year-old woman sell 255 of her own paintings, board a ship with only her daughter for company, and sail to a rainforest on the other side of the Atlantic? For Maria Sibylla Merian, the answer was simple: she needed to study insects. 

Decades before the birth of cinema, a Belgian physicist built a spinning disc that convinced the human eye it was watching motion. That device, invented in late 1832, was the phenakistoscope, and it remains one of the earliest true forerunners of animation and cinema. Today we're taking a closer look at how it worked and examining some beautiful examples.

We may consider animal painting as a minor tributary of art history, something decorative, a background element. D’Hondecoeter invites us to look carefully at other creatures, to resist the habit of treating them as a background or supporting characters, and to find in their behaviour something that reflects our own. 

Hendrick Goltzius was a Dutch engraver and painter whose astonishing technical skill shaped the work of his contemporaries and generations beyond. Today, we’ll look closely at two of his signature engraving techniques, the swelling line and the dot and lozenge method, exploring how they work, why they matter, and studying some beautiful examples along the way.

Tattoo artist, illustrator, and printmaker Billy Bernert is known for his blackwork and engraving-inspired tattoos. His practice channels the aesthetics of old woodcuts and copper engravings, drawing on the legacy of Albrecht Dürer and his contemporaries from the 15th century. Working from his studio, Sulphur Tattoo, in the German countryside, Billy captures and reimagines the visual power of the Old Masters while weaving in modern influences. His practice spans disciplines, from bold, one-off tattoo designs to illustrations and woodcuts he carves and prints himself, all rooted in the tradition and texture of historical printmaking.