Art Forms

European Art

René Magritte’s Art Deco Sheet Music Covers

You probably associate Belgian Surrealist artist René Magritte with weird, surreal pieces, like his famous Treachery of Images. He also liked...

Zuzanna Stańska 21 November 2023

Bizarre

14 Weirdest Paintings by René Magritte

I love to watch people looking at his art for the first time. René Magritte’s art became well-known for a number of witty and thought-provoking...

Zuzanna Stańska 21 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Treachery of Images by René Magritte

As you can see, this painting depicts a pipe. Underneath it, there is a French sentence that says “This is not a pipe”. You may ask, what...

Zuzanna Stańska 21 November 2023

Surrealism

Masterpiece Story: The Lovers by René Magritte

You must have already encountered René Magritte’s series of paintings on lovers marked by his unmistakable surreal style and renowned wit.

Zuzanna Stańska 21 November 2023

Abstract Expressionism

Lucio Fontana and the Venice You Have Never Known

Even if you haven’t been to Venice, you must be quite familiar with it from millions of picturesque (or picturesque-ish) photos flooding...

Magda Michalska 20 November 2023

Giorgione and Titian, Sleeping Venus, 1508-10, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Sleeping Venus by Giorgione and Titian

Giorgione and Titian’s Sleeping Venus is a masterpiece of the Venetian Renaissance school of painting. It explores sensual nudity through a...

James W Singer 20 November 2023

Jean-Michel Basquiat at an exhibition of his work in 1988, Vrej Baghoomian Gallery, New York, NY, USA. Photograph vt Julio Donoso via The Guardian. Artist Stories

Like a Flame – Jean-Michel Basquiat in 5 Paintings

He started out a couch-surfing throwaway. One day, a painting of his would sell for the highest price ever for an American artist at a public...

Helen Jeffery 20 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Pieter Bruegel’s Children’s Games Explained

Children’s Games is one of Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s most famous paintings. Just like in other works of his, it is debatable whether it was just...

Irina Diana Calu 20 November 2023

Artist Stories

Mariano Fortuny – A Genius From Venice

Yes, the title is a little misleading. Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo was not originally from Venice, as he was born in Granada in 1871, as the son of a...

Magda Michalska 20 November 2023

Rosalba Carriera, The Allegory of Music, 1712 Bavarian National Museum, Munich, Germany. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Rococo

Rosalba Carriera: The Accomplished Pastellist

Do you know the great Rococo portraitist Rosalba Carriera? She was one of the most famous painters of the early 18th century. Carriera became known...

Maia Heguiaphal 20 November 2023

Symbolism

Mythological Femmes Fatales in Mysterious Symbolist Paintings

Symbolism developed in the 19th century. It began as a literary movement but quickly moved into other art forms. Symbolist painters rejected the...

Anastasia Manioudaki 20 November 2023

Architecture

Carlo Scarpa: The Modern Son of Venice

When you think of Venice you probably first see Piazza San Marco in your mind’s eye. Then some canals and gondolas, or maybe the other way around.

Joanna Kaszubowska 20 November 2023