Masterpiece Stories

Academic Art

Constructing Racism in Western Art – Hans Makart and the Case of Cleopatra

When Netflix cast Black actress Adele James as Cleopatra in a docu-series on the life of the famous Egyptian queen, the world went viral in a heated...

Kero Fichter 29 April 2024

Standing Bodhisattva, 3rd century, gray schist stone, Gandhara, Pakistan, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Standing Bodhisattva

Standing Bodhisattva is a great example of Gandharan art and its blended multicultural origins: East meets...

James W Singer 29 April 2024

Marietta Robusti, Self Portrait with Madrigal Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait with Madrigal by Marietta Robusti

The Venetian Renaissance painter Marietta Robusti has recently caused a stir in the art history world. Although only a few works are attributed to...

Anna Ingram 28 April 2024

Artemisia Gentileschi, Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–c. 1656) was “one of the best Italian Baroque painters.” Despite this, you won’t find any of her works in...

Chris Dobson 28 April 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird by Frida Kahlo

The story of Frida Kahlo is narrated through her artworks. She left an indelible mark on the art world with her emotionally charged and...

Celia Leiva Otto 28 April 2024

Marie-Denise Villers, Self-Portrait, 1802, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait by Marie-Denise Villers

Self-Portrait by Marie-Denise Villers showcases the genius of a leading female artist of Napoleonic...

James W Singer 28 April 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self Portrait in a Straw Hat by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

Why is art history predominantly focused on male artists? Are there not enough female artists to fill textbooks? Of course, there are enough, but the...

James W Singer 28 April 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Tamara de Lempicka’s Autoportrait (Tamara in a Green Bugatti)

Heralded as one of the greatest Polish artists of all time, Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980) painted the aristocracy in France and the United States in...

Isabella Hill 25 April 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ground Swell by Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper created his peaceful seascape masterpiece Ground Swell with hinted implications of social disengagement, emotional loneliness, and...

James W Singer 21 April 2024

Peder Severin Krøyer, Summer Evening on Skagen Sønderstrand, 1893, Skagens Museum, Skagen, Denmark. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Summer Evening on Skagen Sønderstrand by Peder Severin Krøyer

Summer Evening on Skagen Sønderstrand by Peder Severin Krøyer is a masterpiece of Danish Impressionism. It not only captures the beauty of the...

James W Singer 21 April 2024

Claude Monet, Impression Sunrise, 1872, Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet

Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise is a masterpiece of Impressionism that captures the elusiveness and the impermanence of an autumn...

James W Singer 21 April 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Summer Squall by Winslow Homer

The crashing waves roar with deafening thunder, and the foamy spray flies with a quickening speed. Great gusts of wind blow the waters over the rocks...

James W Singer 21 April 2024