Tim Brinkhof

Tim Brinkhof

Tim Brinkhof

Tim Brinkhof is a Dutch-born, New York-based journalist reporting on art, history, and literature. He studied early Netherlandish painting and Slavic literature at New York University, worked as an editorial assistant for Film Comment magazine, and has written for Esquire, Film & History, History Today, and History News Network. 

A Zen-inspired painting of a group of apples on a table.
'Six Persimmons,' an ink painting by the Chinese monk Mu Qi, has long been hailed as the poster child of Zen Buddhism. But is its reputation deserved?
A Strauss-Howe inspired painting depicting the bond between a woman and a boy.
An influential series of books argues that the history of the world is the history of generations. Is it right?
An illustration of a non-human main character, a fox, with birds on a branch.
See the world through the eyes of a horse — or a cake pan.
ancient technology
These astounding inventions show that civilizations of the past were a lot more advanced than we might have thought.
A painting of a group of people in the Tikal cave.
Tikal, one of the biggest cities the Maya ever built, was home to a vast and flourishing society.
A man sitting in a chair next to a woman, pondering Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy.
The great philosopher spent the final portion of his painful life in a vegetative state. Did illness get him there, or was it his own philosophy?
Artist, portrait
Once at the pinnacle of Amsterdam’s art scene, Rembrandt van Rijn eventually found himself outcompeted by his own students.
A famous black and white painting.
Rejecting romanticism, these famous paintings depict war as it really is: sadistic and senseless.
A Mercedes Benz parked in front of a building in Beijing, China.
China has always been one of the world’s wealthiest nations, but Chinese wealth looks different across the country’s eventful history.
Banksy mural Ukraine
In war zones, aggressors steal art to eradicate the cultural heritage of others. Victims, meanwhile, sell stolen art in order to survive.
A group of people are holding flags in front of a monument representing democracy.
The Persian Constitutional Revolution made unlikely allies and enemies of missionaries, ayatollahs, the shah, and his Russian ambassadors. Its legacy shaped modern-day Iran.
A man is taking a bath in a Thermae Romae-style bathtub.
In ancient Rome, collective bathing was the norm. In the West today, it’s the exception — and that’s too bad.
Jon Fosse is posing for a photo.
The world’s “most produced living playwright” wins out over other contestants, including Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood.
A painting of a group of people around a table with an air pump.
Science and technology were making early modern Europe a better place to live, but at what cost?
A black and white photo of two men walking down a path in Papua New Guinea.
Australian soldiers fighting the Japanese recruited native New Guineans to their campaign.
Historians have been able to piece together a clear picture of how the average Roman citizen spent their waking hours.
A model of a temple inspired by Herostratus.
His crime was so great, he was not only sentenced to death but his name was to be erased from memory.
A wake up call for America during World War I.
Still, the author's main argument wasn't totally discredited.
oldest trousers
The design was as intricate as that of modern-day, factory-fabricated denim jeans, and just as durable. The ancients had fashion.
A still of Janet Leigh screaming in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' beside an image of Alfred Hitchcock holding a finger to his mouth as if shushing someone.
Pure cinema is about removing redundancy so that even the smallest detail serves a purpose in relation to the bigger picture.