In the art world, it has always been about who you know, not what you know. And who Michelangelo knew almost cost him his life. The banishment didn’t last for long, and they were reinstated in 1530.

When Cosimo il Vecchio was a young man, he was given a slave girl. Despite his marriage he continued to live with her, away from his family. Their bastard son, Carlo, sought his fortune in Spain and ...

Editor’s note: For those who are wondering about the retro title of this black-history series, please take a moment to learn about historian Joel A. Rogers, author of the 1934 book 100 Amazing Facts ...