Art Forms

Cats

Women with Cats in Art: Crazy Cat Ladies or Independent Individualists?

Within arts, cats can have a symbolic meaning, and that meaning may vary depending on the period of time. Their nocturnal habits gave them a negative...

Lauren Kraut 8 August 2023

Cats

Can You Spot the Cat? Cats Hidden in Famous Paintings

I like cats and I’m sure that many of you do, too. A fascinating animal, the cat has earned itself an important place in culture, literature, and...

Marina Kochetkova 8 August 2023

Artist Stories

Powerful or Problematic? Robert Mapplethorpe’s Photographs

Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe shocked the world with his images of bondage, gay sex, female bodybuilders and naked black men. Technically brilliant or politically problematic, what do you think?

Candy Bedworth 7 August 2023

Women Artists

Maria Prymachenko⁠ — Folk Pacifist from Ukraine in London

Have you heard of Maria Prymachenko? She was an internationally acclaimed naïve artist who drew from traditional Ukrainian folk art. What...

Zuzanna Stańska 7 August 2023

Hanna Hirsch-Pauli, Friends, 1900-1907, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden. Detail.  Women Artists

Hanna Hirsch-Pauli: Friendship Goals and Feminism in the 19th-Century Stockholm

Swedish artist Hanna Hirsch-Pauli (1864-1940) is best known for her genre scenes and portraits. She studied at the painting school of August...

Europeana 7 August 2023

Post-Impressionism

The Story of an Excessively Electric Friendship Between Van Gogh and Gauguin

People say that you shouldn’t live with your friends because your friendship may deteriorate. The story of the friendship between Vincent van...

Magda Michalska 7 August 2023

Salvador Dalí and Coco Chanel sharing a cigarette Fashion

A Fierce Romance of Art and Fashion: The Friendship between Salvador Dalí and Coco Chanel

When Dalí moved to Paris in 1926, Chanel was already a famous fashion designer. Dalí had already worked in the fashion industry, as he had...

Errika Gerakiti 7 August 2023

Music

The Story of Velvet Underground & Nico Album Cover by Andy Warhol

Today, we will be talking about Andy Warhol and his famous banana cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico, the debut album by the Velvet...

Zuzanna Stańska 6 August 2023

Pop art

Andy Warhol: Religious Artist for a Secular Society

When I first saw a photo of Andy Warhol, he was wearing a wig and lipstick, and I thought he was an intriguing woman. However, he was, of course, one...

Marina Kochetkova 6 August 2023

Double-Headed Serpent, ca 1400-1521, mosaic on wood, British Museum, London, UK. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Double-Headed Serpent

Double-Headed Serpent is a masterpiece of Aztec art that combines religious and commercial significance. It is filled with hidden allusions under a...

James W Singer 5 August 2023

Art History 101

Mexican Colors in Art: From Mesoamerica to the World

Not so long ago, artists got their pigments from nature. In consequence, every region of the world had its own pigments and shades of colors. In...

Jimena Escoto 5 August 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Saint George and the Dragon

There is a skirmish between the hero and the villain. Fabrics whip about, horse hoofs trample, and a dying scream erupts as Saint George slaughters...

James W Singer 4 August 2023