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A sepia-toned Michelangelo drawing of a bust

Michelangelo hated painting the Sistine Chapel

February 23, 2026, Anna Swartwood House

The sale of a small red chalk drawing of a woman’s foot by Michelangelo, which sold at auction for $27.2 million, excited art historians — not because of the money it fetched but because of the attention it has brought to Michelangelo’s lifelong devotion to drawing, a medium he prized over painting. Anna Swartwood House, an associate professor of art history at USC, writes for The Conversation about the significance of the recent sale.

Topics: Academics, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, The Conversation

Painting depicting transfiguration of Jesus, a story in the New Testament

The long history of how Jesus came to resemble a white European

July 22, 2020, Anna Swartwood House

No one knows exactly what Jesus looked like, and there are no known images of him from his lifetime. Art history professor Anna Swartwood House writes in The Conversation that the portrayal of Jesus as a white, European man has come under renewed scrutiny during this period of introspection over the legacy of racism in society.

Topics: Faculty, Diversity, History, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, The Conversation

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