Baroque

Rembrandt painted his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh as Flora, goddess of spring and flowers, three times during their relatively short but meaningful marriage. He created the first portrait shortly after the wedding. It shows his beloved...

Artists' Stories

Vincent van Gogh’s love life was a really sad one. The list of the artist’s lovers is full of unsuccessful romances and rejections. This is the tragic story of Vincent van Gogh and his lovers, I’m...

Artists' Stories

The Bedroom(s) are among the most famous paintings of Vincent van Gogh. Why the plural? There are three similar paintings of the same title. All three versions are described in his letters, easily discernible from one another by...

20th century

The Scream by Edvard Munch is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It’s pretty obvious why – its expression and the way the pain and the anxiety of the man are depicted is...

Artists' Stories

20th century

Alexander Calder was an American sculptor known as the originator of the mobile, a type of moving sculpture made with delicately balanced or suspended shapes that move in response to touch or air currents. Like this...

Ancient Egypt

Blue faience hippopotamus was a popular statuette in Ancient Egyptian art. Ancient Egyptians considered it to have positive traits associated with fertility and rebirth. Also, little hippopotamus statuettes were found among the objects buried in tombs. Varying...

Ancient Greece

Greek art and sculpture has had a profound effect on art throughout the ages. Many of the styles have been reproduced and copied by some of what the modern day audiences would classify as the finest...

Baroque

The Night Watch painted by Rembrandt van Rijn is a colossal (363×437 cm) and most famous canvas created by the artist. It is one of the icons of Western art history. Painted in 1642, at the peak...

Ancient

The bejeweled woman from the mosaic, holding the measuring tool for the Roman foot, is identified by the restored Greek inscription as Ktisis. She is a figure personifying the act of generous donation or foundation. Ktisis,...