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

19th Century

The Nabis 101
By Magda MichalskaJuly 19, 2019
Multiple times I’ve told myself while writing other articles: “I finally have to write about the Nabis!”. And still haven’t done so. Why, why, why, if they are one of my favourite groups? Hopefully they will...
Art State of Mind

You Got a Fast Car: Automobile Art
By Magda MichalskaJuly 16, 2019
I’m desperately trying to pass my driving license exam (so far no good). I thought that maybe art and Tracy Chapman could give me some speeding vibes in the car? Renaissance Vehicle This drawing presents the...
20th century

Jeanne Hébuterne. Not Only a Muse but an Artist in Her Own Right
By Magda MichalskaJuly 12, 2019
This post is not going to be about the tragic love story between Jeanne and Amedeo Modigliani (who wants to read about it, click here). This post is going to be about Jeanne the artist. Jeanne...
Architecture

Aubette 1928: a Neoplasticist Gesamtkunstwerk in Strasbourg
By Magda MichalskaJuly 10, 2019
Last week I had a chance to visit Strasbourg in Alsace, France. It’s a charming city full of picturesque narrow and tiny houses scattered along the canals. There are bridges and pretzels (yum!) everywhere. Yet, among...
Art History 101

Art Afterpieces. How Internet Didn’t Come up with Anything New
By Magda MichalskaJuly 3, 2019
Playing with the greatest masterpieces by adding to them contemporary elements, like inserting a smartphone into a hand of a Pre-Raphaelite lady, might seem an invention made a couple of years ago. Well, it is not....
dailyart

Strawberry Paintings Forever
By Magda MichalskaJuly 1, 2019
Strawberries are in season! There are very few who dislike them, I know only two such people. I love everything about them, from texture, to smell, to taste. Painters also love the way they look, red...
20th century

Pride Month: Andy Warhol’s Ladies and Gentlemen
By Magda MichalskaJune 27, 2019
The club “The Gilded Grape”, situated in the no man’s land of Eighth Avenue and West 45th Street in New York City, was a hub of drag queens and black and Hispanic transvestites. In 1975, Bob...
Art State of Mind

Sixth Sense? Allegories of Senses in Painting
By Magda MichalskaJune 26, 2019
How to show our sensual experiences visually? The human senses made out one of the most appealing subjects for European painters, especially that since the Middle Ages they had rather negative connotations, being considered as lustful...
Art State of Mind

Rainbow in Painting for LGBT Pride Month
By Magda MichalskaJune 18, 2019
June has been chosen as the Month of Pride to commemorate riots in the neighbourhood of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NYC, which were a response to a police raid that took place on June 28, 1969. This...
Art History 101

How to Become an Old Master? Turn on the Youtube First!
By Magda MichalskaJune 13, 2019
I can’t draw, I can’t paint, I can’t sculpt or do pottery. But I can watch videos on Rijksmuseum Youtube channel called RijksCreative and imagine I’m a Great Master, too. If you have canvas and brushes,...