Painting

Sir Edwin Landseer, Monarch of the Glen, ca 1851, Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, UK. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Monarch of the Glen by Edwin Landseer

Monarch of the Glen by Edwin Landseer is one of the most famous British paintings of the 19th century. It is a Victorian melodrama at its most...

James W Singer 25 February 2024

Anguish August Friedrich Schenck Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Anguish by August Friedrich Schenck

Surrounded by menacing crows, a mother sheep wails in anguish as her lifeless young lamb rests on a snowy bed. This scene, painted by August...

Montaine Dumont 25 February 2024

A dark brown horse rears on its hind legs; an olive green background: George Stubbs, Whistlejacket, c.1762, The National Gallery, London, UK. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Whistlejacket by George Stubbs

If you visit London’s National Gallery, you can’t miss Whistlejacket. George Stubbs’ life-size, rearing stallion is visible down a...

Catriona Miller 25 February 2024

Gerrit Dou, Dog at Rest, 1650, oil on oak panel, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Dog at Rest by Gerrit Dou

Gerrit Dou’s Dog at Rest is a masterpiece of Dutch genre painting, perfect for both dog enthusiasts and art...

James W Singer 25 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Threatened Swan by Jan Asselijn

Swans are normally characterized as graceful birds. They are magnificent and majestic. However, Jan Asselijn displays another side of these elegant...

James W Singer 25 February 2024

Art Nouveau

Viktor Zaretsky: The Oeuvre of the Ukrainian Gustav Klimt

Viktor Zaretsky is often called the Ukrainian Gustav Klimt. In fact, the influence of Klimt in the artworks of this Ukrainian artist is quite...

Nataliia Pecherska 24 February 2024

Artist Stories

Pierre-Auguste Renoir: The Impressive Life of an Impressionist

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, a leading member of Impressionism, was perhaps the most vibrant painter of color and light in the famous French movement.

Sam Malone 22 February 2024

Artist Stories

Félix Vallotton: Illustrator of Fin de Siècle Paris

Félix Vallotton was a Swiss painter who left his home country to join the artistic nebula of Paris at the fin de siècle—the end of the century.

Kaena Daeppen 22 February 2024

History

Joanna of Castile: Story of a Misunderstood Queen in Portraits

Joanna of Castile, also known as Joanna the Mad, was never expected to inherit the throne of Castile and Aragon in the 16th century. Due to her...

Anna Ingram 22 February 2024

Renaissance

Rebelious Princess – Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda, Princess of Éboli

“Who is this beauty with an eyepatch?” you may ask. Is she some sort of pirate queen? No, but you are not far from the truth. Ana de Mendoza de...

Joanna Kaszubowska 22 February 2024

Music

Zdzisław Beksiński’s Passion for Music

In the history of art, so much has been written and said about the close relationship between music and painting. Numerous painters have declared...

Guest Profile 21 February 2024

History

Enslaved Black Models in European Art: Anonymous Objects?

Portraits of Black people are rare in European art history. Let’s be clear: they were there, in society, but they rarely made it into art, except...

Candy Bedworth 20 February 2024