Art Forms

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Whistler’s Mother by James McNeill Whistler

Whistler’s 1871 painting Arrangement in Grey and Black No 1 might not sound familiar. As Whistler’s Mother, on the other hand, it has entered...

Catriona Miller 10 May 2026

Gedovius. Germán Gedovius, La Tehuana, ca. 1917, National Museum of Art, Mexico City, Mexico. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: La Tehuana by Germán Gedovius

Around 1917, the Mexican painter Germán Gedovius created La Tehuana (Woman from Tehuantepec), a warm and intimate moment between a mother and her...

Jimena Escoto 10 May 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Reclining Mother and Child II by Paula Modersohn-Becker

Does any image say primal love more than this powerful painting by Paula Modersohn-Becker? It is an artwork that includes not just children but also...

Candy Bedworth 10 May 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Madonna and Child with Two Angels by Fra Filippo Lippi

On the surface, Fra Filippo Lippi’s Madonna and Child with Two Angels appears to be another typical Renaissance painting of the Virgin Mary and the...

James W Singer 10 May 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Queen Mother Idia of Benin

Africa is a beautiful continent filled with sweeping landscapes and mighty rivers. Its history is filled with great kingdoms and large empires. Its...

James W Singer 10 May 2026

Quiz

QUIZ: What Is Missing from These Paintings? Part 2

Szymon Jocek 9 May 2026

Quiz

QUIZ: Abstract Expressionism for Nerds

Tommy Thiange 9 May 2026

Hieronymus Bosch, Death and the Miser, ca 1485-90, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Death and the Miser by Hieronymus Bosch

Death and the Miser is a masterpiece of morbid curiosity. It reflects on the tension between the pursuit of wealth and the inevitability of death,...

James W Singer 8 May 2026

Symbolism

Symbolism Special: Jacek Malczewski’s Dates with Death

Jacek Malczewski is one of the most important Polish symbolist painters. Malczewski is associated with the Young Poland movement (Młoda Polska), a...

Magda Michalska 8 May 2026

Oosterwijck Women Artists

Death Becomes Her: Women Artists and the Vanitas Tradition

Vanitas is an art genre that flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries, especially in the Netherlands. The term originates from the Latin word for...

Errika Gerakiti 8 May 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Death of Cleopatra by Edmonia Lewis

As a Black and Indigenous woman, Edmonia Lewis overcame prejudice and defied societal expectations to become a successful sculptor. Her Death of...

Catriona Miller 8 May 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Death of Barbara Radziwiłł by Józef Simmler

The National Museum in Warsaw is one of the largest museums in Poland and boasts an extensive art collection. Among its body of works is The Death of...

James W Singer 8 May 2026