Art Forms

Baroque

Dark Shadows of Seville in Murillo’s Paintings

Apart from fulfilling commissions for churches and noblemen’s mansions, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo painted genre scenes depicting poor children in...

Soledad Castillo Jara 30 June 2023

Hans Eworth, Elizabeth I and the Three Goddesses, 1569 History

The Myth of the Judgement of Paris in Art

According to Greek mythology, the Judgement of Paris is a story which leads up to the start of the Trojan War. As the myth goes, three goddesses are...

Anna Ingram 29 June 2023

Rosa Bonheur, Plowing in the Nivernais Artist Stories

The Radical and Rebellious Rosa Bonheur

Rosa Bonheur's vivid animal portraits made her one of France's richest 19th century artist. Her unconventional personal life is fascinating!

Candy Bedworth 29 June 2023

François Clouet (School), Portrait of Louise de Lorraine, ca. 1575, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Louise de Lorraine by François Clouet (School)

Portrait of Louise de Lorraine is a French Renaissance painting that exudes the artistic ideas of its time and captures the queen’s personal and...

James W Singer 29 June 2023

Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Henry VIII of England, ca. 1537, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain.  History

Royal Portraits: The Art of Image

Shakespeare once wrote, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” For monarchs...

Abreeza Thomas 29 June 2023

Fashion

Get Inspired: Jewelry in Rossetti’s Paintings

Each piece of jewelry in Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s paintings worn by his models wasn’t invented but copied from actual accessories from the...

Bolor Jargalsaikhan 29 June 2023

Muisca Raft, ca 600-1600, gold, Museo del Oro, Bogotá, Colombia. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Muisca Raft

The Muisca Raft is a masterpiece of Pre-Columbian art. It was created by the Muisca people who lived in a region of today’s Colombia. Muisca...

James W Singer 27 June 2023

Anna Claypoole Peale Women Artists

Female Artists of the Peale Family, America’s First Art Dynasty

The Peale family was America’s first artistic dynasty. Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was a prominent American artist and early museum...

Alexandra Kiely 26 June 2023

Review

On Ugliness by Umberto Eco – A Sublime Journey Through Horrid Texts and Faces of the Western World

This book stood on one of my shelves for far too long. The compelling ugliness of its cover attracted me each time I longingly glanced at it. Now...

Giordana Goretti 26 June 2023

Music

Farinelli – The Best Castrato In Portraits

What does “castrato” mean? Castrati were male singers who had been castrated before puberty to retain the so-called voce bianca, that is...

Magda Michalska 26 June 2023

Review

Muse: Uncovering the Hidden Figures in Art History

Muse – Uncovering the Hidden Figures Behind Art History’s Masterpieces by Ruth Millington is a fascinating book that aims, and one could even...

Aniela Rybak 26 June 2023

Art History 101

Essential Books for Art Historians (and Art Lovers)

Not sure what you should read next? Here is a list of the most important art-related books you should read. Written in the previous century, they...

Roma Piotrowska 26 June 2023