Painting

Li Di, Red and White Cotton Roses, Southern Song dynasty, 1197, color on silk, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Red and White Cotton Roses by Li Di

Red and White Cotton Roses is considered Li Di’s lifetime masterpiece and a masterwork of Chinese...

James W Singer 29 January 2024

Herstory

Painting a Reputation: The Portrait of Empress Dowager Cixi by Katharine Augusta Carl

Art and politics have been closely intertwined throughout global history. This article studies the case of The Empress Dowager Cixi of China by...

Iolanda Munck 29 January 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Monkey Painter by Jean-Baptiste Chardin

It’s tacky! It’s funny! It’s weird! Yes, Jean-Baptiste Chardin’s The Monkey Painter is definitely not what you would consider in good taste.

James W Singer 29 January 2024

Animals

Hieronymus Bosch’s Creepy Owls

Hieronymus Bosch was an Early Netherlandish painter. He must have lived in two worlds simultaneously – the real one and a world of his...

Zuzanna Stańska 29 January 2024

Impressionists, Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1906 Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Water Lilies by Claude Monet

Water Lilies is a masterpiece of Impressionism. It blends the artist’s objective world and subjective...

James W Singer 28 January 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Almond Blossom by Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime. He was not a financially successful artist, and he was entirely dependent on his...

James W Singer 28 January 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Vase with Flowers by Rachel Ruysch

Let’s discuss one of the greatest still-life artists: Rachel Ruysch. Still-life paintings do not draw the crowds at museums. They are often...

James W Singer 28 January 2024

Herstory

Malva Schalek: Art in the Shadow of the Holocaust

Malva Schalek, also known as Malvína Schalková, was a Czech-Jewish artist who endured the turbulent landscape of the early 20th century and was...

Andreea Iancu 27 January 2024

Women Artists

Story within a Story in Paula Rego’s World

Paula Rego was probably the most important figure in the narrative British painting. She drew her inspiration from fairytales, myths, animations and...

Magda Michalska 26 January 2024

Women Artists

Paula Rego and Other Strong Women

Paula Rego (1935-2022) was a Portuguese-British visual artist considered one of the pre-eminent woman artists of the late 20th and early 21st...

Magda Michalska 26 January 2024

Ian Francis, Petrified Archway, 2015, mixed media on canvas. Artist's website. Contemporary Art

The Violent, Abstract Art of Ian Francis

Ian Francis’ art career started with disillusionment. He weathered the selective art world of the late 1990s, carrying on with works that...

Errika Gerakiti 25 January 2024

Art State of Mind

School and Learning in the Eyes of Artists

A lot has changed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: not just the way we approach our health and safety, but also the way children...

Europeana 24 January 2024