The water wheel is one of the many machines that was invented in the middle ages. This particular water wheel can be credited to a roman engineer named Vitruvius who between the 8th and 10th century developed this machine. This machinery led to the use of natural energy being used to generate power and was the first type of power harnessed by man that was not generated by animals or humans. This definitely helped to change the way of life in medieval Europe and affected all levels of society from individuals to entire countries. The positive influence of the water wheel was primarily due to the saving of time and money. People could do larger amounts of work in a shorter amount of time for a lower cost. These wheels were used for the mass production of grinding grain and later on in some cases were used to power large machinery in other industries doubling production. How can the medieval period be considered dark when the light from the introduction of the water wheel changed the evolution of production in industries and activities in everyday life?!
Portrait of Henry VIII
This is a painting by Hans Holbein generally thought to have been painted in the mid 1530s.
Charles I Triple Portrait
Charles I in Three Positions, also known as the Triple portrait of Charles I, is an oil painting of Charles I of England by Flemish artist Sir Anthony Van Dyck, showing the King from three viewpoints: left full profile, face on, and right three quarter profile. [more]
The Shrimp Girl
The Shrimp Girl is a painting by the English artist William Hogarth. It was painted around 1740–45, and is held by the National Gallery, London. [more]
Mr. and Mrs. Andrews
Mr and Mrs Andrews is an oil on canvas portrait of about 1750 by Thomas Gainsborough, now in the National Gallery, London. [more]
Flatford Mill
Flatford Mill (Scene on a Navigable River) is an oil painting by English artist John Constable, painted in 1816. It is Constable's largest exhibition canvas to be painted mainly outdoors, the first of his large "six-foot" paintings [more]
The Fighting Temeraire
The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838 is an oil painting by the English artist J. M. W. Turner. HMS Temeraire was one of the last second-rate ships of the line to have played a distinguished role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. [more]
The Hireling Shepherd
This is a painting by William Holman Hunt, a leading British Pre-Raphaelite.
Ophelia
Ophelia is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais, completed between 1851 and 1852. It depicts Ophelia, a character from Hamlet, singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark. [more]
The Music Lesson
The Music Lesson or Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman by Jan Vermeer, is a painting of young female pupil receiving the titular music lesson. [more]
