Magda Michalska

Magda, art historian and Italianist, she writes about art because she cannot make it herself. She loves committed and political artists like Ai Weiwei or the Futurists; like Joseph Beuys she believes that art can change us and we can change the world.

Stories By Magda Michalska

Bodies And Erotic Art

Beach Bodies, Sea Foam and Shells – Summertime Venuses
By Magda MichalskaAugust 1, 2016
Venus, Venus, Venus. Who wouldn’t envy her? She is the embodiment of beauty, sexuality and love. She is perhaps the most often depicted woman in history of art. And she was born out of sea foam....
Artists' Stories

In a Cabaret with de Toulouse-Lautrec’s Posters
By Magda MichalskaJuly 30, 2016
On the outskirts of Paris, a working-class district with cabarets and dance halls called Montmartre, became a centre of the bohemian society of the city. Musicians, poets, writers, and artists used the cabarets as “laboratories” to...
Museums And Exhibitions

When in Budapest, Pay A Visit To These Two Hot Guys In Hungarian National Gallery
By Magda MichalskaJuly 27, 2016
Are you looking for a short summer romance? Go to Budapest! Two really hot guys are staying in the Hungarian National Gallery this summer: 1. Picasso- Transfigurations 1895-1972 I frankly recommend this one (just came back from...
21st century

Modern Grasps On The Swinging Rococo
By Magda MichalskaJuly 26, 2016
Rococo seemed to be a fun period for the aristocracy. They are always depicted at leisure: strolling in the park, sailing on boats, playing cards or musical instruments, or secretly flirting. Fragonard’s painting “The Swing” gives a...
Architecture

These Churches Will Make You Believe In God
By Magda MichalskaJuly 22, 2016
Churches are fascinating buildings where time seems to stand still. Allow to be led by the smell of incense into the dark Gothic interiors. Watch out for chimera statues! Sagrada Familia in Barcelona Sagrada Familia...
History

Guns, Fire and Blood: Paintings For Our Uncertain Times
By Magda MichalskaJuly 18, 2016
Art and politics have always been closely interrelated. Artists documented the events or narrated them, often manipulating the truth. Art is full of propaganda, protest and revolution. In the times of political turmoil all over the...
Bodies And Erotic Art

David Sculptures: Bumcheeks, Hats and Other Fetishes of Florentine Artists
By Magda MichalskaJuly 16, 2016
Sculpturers from Florence loved the biblical story about David, an adolescent boy who would win a duel by killing a giant Goliath using just a sling. Why? Did they just love to mould young boys’ shapes, however dirty it...
Food

Come Dine With Art History: See What It Has Cooked For You
By Magda MichalskaJuly 14, 2016
Socrates said that we eat to live, not live to eat (although his wife must have thought differently since according to the legend she was terribly fat). Well, even if ‘be, or not to be’ can...
Nature

5 Gardens That Would Make Every Greenfingered Gardener Envious
By Magda MichalskaJuly 12, 2016
Doesn’t matter if you have a garden, a balcony, a terrace, or just a window sill on which you keep a small cactus. These gardens are like nothing you’ve seen before. Prepare for a thrust of...
Seasons

When The Days Get Too Sunny…
By Magda MichalskaJuly 9, 2016
… it’s time for the umbrellas! Check out these 5 beautiful pieces of art that feature rain (and umbrellas occasionally). 1. Gustave Caillebotte, Paris Street, Rainy Day, 1877 This is probably the most famous work of . He...