Painting

Impressionists, Gustave Caillebotte, The Floor Planers, 1875 Impressionism

Gustave Caillebotte in 10 Paintings: A Different Impression

Think Impressionism, and Gustave Caillebotte is not the first name that springs to mind. Yet he helped organize the Impressionist exhibitions, he...

Catriona Miller 9 December 2024

Women Artists

Marxist, Nationalist, Feminist: The Art and Politics of Frida Kahlo

Marxist, nationalist, feminist – these are the words that describe not only the political convictions but also the artworks of Frida Kahlo.

Kacper Grass 9 December 2024

Painting

Carel Fabritius in 10 Paintings: Rembrandt’s Most Promising Pupil

Any biography of Carel Fabritius (Dutch, 1622–1654) is necessarily short; there simply is not much known about him. He was born in Beemster, a...

Tom Anderson 9 December 2024

WTF Art History

Forbidden Art—10 Scandalous Cases of Censorship in Art

Art history is painted with shades of prohibition—works banned, artists silenced, and masterpieces under attack. From centuries past to the cutting...

Celia Leiva Otto 9 December 2024

Long Read

Badass Queens from Classical History

A rollicking adventure through the lives of great leaders and queens from ancient times. Famous female leaders are a fascinating bunch. Here at...

Candy Bedworth, Guest Profile 9 December 2024

Artist Stories

Frida Kahlo: The Suffering Behind Her Paintings

The image of Frida Kahlo has become very popular in our society: we can find her face or artworks on colorful and bright t-shirts, earrings, cups,...

Arianna Richetti 9 December 2024

History

Diego Rivera: The Controversial Story of Man at the Crossroads

At the suggestion of his mother, Nelson Rockefeller commissioned Diego Rivera, a passionate Mexican socialist artist, to paint the mural that was...

Ruxi Rusu 9 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Young Woman Peeling Apples by Nicolaes Maes

Today’s Masterpiece Story is about this lovely genre painting by Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693), a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in...

Alexandra Kiely 8 December 2024

Jan Havicksz Steen, Woman at her Toilet, 1655-60, oil on panel, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Woman at Her Toilet by Jan Steen

Jan Steen’s Woman at Her Toilet is a provocative masterpiece of genre paintings because of its visual complexity and seductive allure, inviting...

James W Singer 8 December 2024

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Conscript’s Farewell, 1854, Leopold Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Conscript’s Farewell by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller

Conscript’s Farewell is a masterpiece by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. It explores a family’s reaction to the conscription of their beloved...

James W Singer 8 December 2024

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Peasant Wedding, 1567 Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Peasant Wedding by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (the Museum of Art History) is located in Vienna, Austria. It is the largest art gallery in the country, housing the...

Anastasia Manioudaki 8 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Gallant Conversation by Gerard ter Borch

Gallant Conversation by Gerard ter Borch is a genre painting filled with a mysterious narrative. What are the three people doing? Why are they in a...

James W Singer 8 December 2024