#looted art

Nike of Samothrace, ca 200-175 BCE, Parian and Lartian marble, Paleopoli, Samothrace, Greece, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Nike of Samothrace

Nike of Samothrace is the masterpiece of an unknown Hellenistic artist. While the artist’s story may be unknown, the statue’s story is as complex...

James W Singer 24 March 2024

Medieval Art

Celebrity Sculptors, Medieval Fraud and Nazi Looting – An Outrageous Story of the Golden Veit Stoss Altarpiece

This is the largest Gothic altarpiece in the world and a national treasure of Poland. Carved over a period of 12 years, the 15th century Veit Stoss...

Candy Bedworth 21 March 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Queen Mother Idia of Benin

Africa is a beautiful continent filled with sweeping landscapes and mighty rivers. Its history is filled with great kingdoms and large empires. Its...

James W Singer 3 March 2024

Museum Stories

Biggest Art Heists in History

Movies on thefts and art heists are making huge box office hits for their great action and wit. However, even if real art heists have been sometimes...

Irina Diana Calu 19 February 2024

Warrior and Attendants, 16th-17th century, brass, Royal Palace, Benin City, Nigeria, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Warrior and Attendants of Benin

Warrior and Attendants is a masterpiece of Benin art. It encapsulates the beauty of Africa and its people. Black is beautiful. Black is...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

Ramesses II, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, 1279–1254 BCE, granodiorite, Temple of Amun, Karnak Temple Complex, Thebes (Luxor), Egypt, Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ramesses II

The statue of Ramesses II is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian sculpture that proclaims the royal majesty and prowess of Ramesses the...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

Double-Headed Serpent, ca 1400-1521, mosaic on wood, British Museum, London, UK. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Double-Headed Serpent

Double-Headed Serpent is a masterpiece of Aztec art that combines religious and commercial significance. It is filled with hidden allusions under a...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

Kūka’ilimoku, ca 1795-1822, ʻŌhiʻa lehua Wood, Kawaihae, Hawai’i, British Museum, London, UK. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Kūka’ilimoku

Kūka’ilimoku is a masterpiece of Hawaiian art. It is an artistic icon of Hawai’i, Polynesia, and Oceania. With so little Oceanic art displayed...

James W Singer 18 January 2024

Muisca Raft, ca 600-1600, gold, Museo del Oro, Bogotá, Colombia. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Muisca Raft

The Muisca Raft is a masterpiece of Pre-Columbian art. It was created by the Muisca people who lived in a region of today’s Colombia. Muisca...

James W Singer 14 December 2023

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (detail), 1904-07, oil, silver, and gold on canvas, Neue Galerie New York Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I is Gustav Klimt’s most significant work of portraiture. The famous Lady in Gold has as many eye-catching...

Emily Snow 11 December 2023

Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, ca 1766-1833, lacquered gilt wood, Vietnam, Musée Guimet, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara

Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara was donated to the Musée Guimet in Paris, France, in 1889 by French archeologist Gustave Dumoutier. It represents the...

James W Singer 7 December 2023

Striding Lion, 604-562 BCE, glazed clay bricks, Processional Way, Babylon, Iraq, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Striding Lion from the Ishtar Gate

Striding Lion is a masterpiece of Mesopotamian art with monumental size and composition. It symbolizes the strength of King Nebuchadnezzar II and the...

James W Singer 5 December 2023