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Masterpiece Sunday: Ancient Egypt

Queen Nefertari & Goddess Isis, New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, ca 1279-1213 BCE, pigment on plaster, QV66 Tomb of Nefertari, Valley of the Queens, Luxor, Egypt. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Queen Nefertari and Goddess Isis

Queen Nefertari and Goddess Isis is a fabulous masterpiece of ancient Egyptian art. The wall painting in the queen’s tomb captures the dream of...

James W Singer 3 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Judgement Scene from Book of the Dead of Hunefer

Death continues to be one of the greatest fears of human society. Since the dawn of recorded history through the centuries of plague, pestilence, and...

James W Singer 3 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Fowling in the Marshes

Ancient Egypt. The famous land of Tutankhamun evokes popular images of pyramids, mummies, and tombs. It left an artistic heritage that is still...

James W Singer 3 December 2023

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Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Still Life by Henri Fantin-Latour

The greatest happiness can be found in the simple pleasures of daily life. Such simplicities could include the taste of fresh fruit, the smell of...

James W Singer 3 December 2023

Medieval Art

The Unicorn Tapestries – Allegory of Christ, or a Happy Husband?

The Unicorn Tapestries are a set of medieval tapestries depicting a hunt for a unicorn, a popular motif at the time. They’re probably the most...

Alexandra Kiely 2 December 2023

Pieter van Aelst, Christ's Charge to Peter, from the Acts of the Apostles Renaissance

Renaissance Tapestries 101: Religious, Political, and Magical

Renaissance tapestries are the most underestimated subject in art history. As expensive and enormously large works of art, tapestries attributed to...

Anna Ingram 2 December 2023

Medieval Art

How Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Was Inspired by the Late Medieval Tapestry

In Charles Perrault’s 17th-century literary world, knights, dragons, and spellbound princesses persisted centuries after the topic diminished. As...

Anna Ingram 2 December 2023

The Devonshire Hunting Tapestry: Boar and Bear Hunt (detail) Medieval Art

The Devonshire Hunting Tapestries

The Devonshire Hunting Tapestries consist of four large tapestries depicting scenes of hunting various animals. They were made between 1430 and 1450...

Anna Ingram 2 December 2023

God Appears to Abraham, Pieter Coecke van Aelst Renaissance

Henry VIII’s Story of Abraham Tapestries

Everyone knows King Henry VIII for having six wives and an infamous divorce that shook England’s religious core. He is renowned due to art...

Anna Ingram 2 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent

Known for his striking portraits of high-society figures, John Singer Sargent was one of the most successful painters of his day. But after causing a...

Natalia Iacobelli 2 December 2023

Art History 101

5 Most Famous Medusa Paintings in Art History

Medusa, a creation of Greek mythology, stood as one of its most fearsome entities. In Ancient Greek, her name translates to “guardian” or...

Zuzanna Stańska 1 December 2023

Unicorns in art Animals

Unicorns in Art Across Time: From French Tapestries to Damien Hirst’s Sculptures

Unicorns, the enchanting and mythical beings, have been a captivating subject in art since ancient times, maintaining their inspirational allure for...

Ela Bobek 1 December 2023

Animals

Five Fun Facts About Gargoyles – Quirky Creatures of the Middle Ages and Beyond

Everybody loves gargoyles! I used to think I was alone in this, but I’ve come to learn that’s not at all true. In case any of you don’t know, a...

Alexandra Kiely 1 December 2023

Mermaids, Evelyn de Morgan, The Sea Maidens, 1885 History

Siren Song: History of Mermaids in Art

Benevolent or deadly? There are so many depictions of this mythical creature. Let's explore how mermaids have been portrayed in art.

Candy Bedworth 1 December 2023

WTF Art History

The Unbelievable Story of Killer Rabbits in Medieval Manuscripts

If you’ve ever watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you probably remember the scene when the vicious killer bunny (which, as we remember,...

Zuzanna Stańska 1 December 2023

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James Ensor, Masks Confronting Death, 1888, Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States of America Expressionism

James Ensor: What the Mask Hides

Do you know who James Ensor was? James Ensor (1860-1949) was a scandalous, rebellious, and revolutionary Belgian painter with a style that could be...

Andra Patricia Ritisan 30 November 2023

Photography

Man Ray and His Masks

The first artist that comes to mind if one says “masks” is James Ensor, so if you feel like reading about eerie atmosphere and skeletons, click...

Magda Michalska 30 November 2023

Chambri People, Ancestor Mask, early 20th century, wood and natural pigments, Ceremonial House, Chambri Lake Village, Papua New Guinea, Musée du quai Branly, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Chambri People’s Ancestor Mask

Ancestor Mask is a masterpiece of Papua New Guinean art. It symbolizes a vanishing tribal lifestyle rarely seen outside of...

James W Singer 30 November 2023

History of Venetian Carnival Masks Fashion

History of Venetian Carnival Masks

It is not a surprise that every carnival, regardless of its country of origin or other characteristics, is traditionally associated with Venetian...

Guest Profile 30 November 2023

Sculpture

A Great Mystery: Sanxingdui Masks

Who doesn’t love a mystery? Especially an art history mystery. Made by a previously unknown Chinese kingdom, the 3,000-year-old bronze...

Nadine Waldmann 30 November 2023

Men praying by turbulent waters in a torrential downpour. Asian Art

Rain in Japanese Art

Although Japanese weather varies greatly across the archipelago, the abundance of rain throughout the year remains a common phenomenon across Japan.

Maya M. Tola 29 November 2023

Painting

Paintings for Autumn Lovers: Rainy Scenes in Art

Are you tired of summer vibes and high temperatures? Is autumn one of your favorite seasons? If for any of these questions, your answer is...

Magda Michalska 29 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte

Paris Street; Rainy Day is probably the most known work of French artist Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894). In this painting, we see a number of...

Zuzanna Stańska 29 November 2023

A city street on a rainy day. Art State of Mind

Rain in Art – Paintings for Pluviophiles

The causal relationship between weather and human emotion is evident on unbearably hot summer days that result in feelings of despair and melancholy.

Maya M. Tola 29 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) by Vincent van Gogh

In the mid-19th century, Japanese ports were suddenly opened up to international trade, and Europeans went crazy for Japanese culture and art,...

Kelly Hill 29 November 2023

Painting

Fireplace Coziness in Art for Chilly Winter Nights

Have you ever heard of Hygge? It’s a Danish and Norwegian word used to describe a feeling of coziness. Inspired by this beautiful word, I...

Magda Michalska 28 November 2023

Art State of Mind

10 Paintings That Will Bring Sunshine to Your House

Throughout history, artists have used light and shadow in their work to create the illusion of a three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional...

Ruxi Rusu 28 November 2023