#Portraits

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher

François Boucher (1703–1770) was the most celebrated French painter of the 18th century. His painting Madame de Pompadour captures the beautiful...

James W Singer 14 April 2024

François Clouet (School), Portrait of Louise de Lorraine, ca. 1575, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Louise de Lorraine by François Clouet (School)

Portrait of Louise de Lorraine is a French Renaissance painting that exudes the artistic ideas of its time and captures the queen’s personal and...

James W Singer 14 April 2024

Katy Hessel, The Story of Art Without Men, Suzanne Valadon, The Blue Room, 1923, European Art

Suzanne Valadon: Model, Painter, Rebel

Throughout her inspiring life, Suzanne Valadon transitioned from an in-demand model to a successful artist. Along the way, she challenged societal...

Lauren Kraut 12 April 2024

Artist Stories

Powerful or Problematic? Robert Mapplethorpe’s Photographs

Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe shocked the world with his images of bondage, gay sex, female bodybuilders and naked black men. Technically brilliant or politically problematic, what do you think?

Candy Bedworth 12 April 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth by John Singer Sargent

On December 29th, 1888, John Singer Sargent went to the Lyceum Theatre in London to watch the premiere of Shakespeare’s Macbeth starring Henry...

Catriona Miller 1 April 2024

Art History 101

Twelve Important Portraits to Know

Let us embark on a journey through the course of art history with twelve significant portraits everybody should definitely know! The human need to...

Anastasia Manioudaki 1 April 2024

Gerhard Richter, Betty Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Betty by Gerhard Richter

An unconventional portrait where the sitter looks away. The striking colors and flawless technique. A photo or a painting? Let’s dive into the...

Natalia Tiberio 31 March 2024

Women Artists

The Divine Sarah: Sarah Bernhardt, The First Artist Superstar

While we are all familiar with celebrity culture and can recognize all of the Kardashians by their silhouettes, the idea of ‘celebrity’ is not a...

Wendy Gray 24 March 2024

Photography

Theodore Marceau – The Genius Pioneer of Photographic Studios

Theodore Christopher Marceau (1859-1922) was an American photographer who pioneered the creation of a national chain of photographic studios in the...

Zuzanna Stańska 22 March 2024

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond (died 1788), 1785, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. Detail. Women Artists

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard: Female Icon of 18th-Century Paris

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard was one of the most prominent women artists of the end of the 18th century in Paris. Despite misogynistic policies for...

Jimena Escoto 21 March 2024

Hermenegildo Bustos. Hermenegildo Bustos, Self-portrait, 1891, Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City, Mexico. Detail. Artist Stories

Hermenegildo Bustos: Self-Taught Painter of the People

Hermenegildo Bustos was one of Mexico’s most renowned painters of the 19th century. Despite the lack of Academic training, his portraits stood out...

Jimena Escoto 20 March 2024

Artist Stories

The Story of Nikifor, Polish-Lemko Naïve Painter

“Epifaniusz Drowniak” is now a household name in Polish naïve art and, arguably, across Europe alongside painters such as Henri...

Katarzyna Waszak 20 March 2024