Painting

Art History 101

Twelve Important Portraits to Know

Let us embark on a journey through the course of art history with twelve significant portraits everybody should definitely know! The human need to...

Anastasia Manioudaki 1 April 2024

Judith Leyster, Man Offering Money to a Young Woman, 1631, oil on panel, Mauritshuis, Den Haag, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Man Offering Money to a Young Woman by Judith Leyster

Judith Leyster was a powerhouse female artist of the Dutch Golden Age. Man Offering Money to a Young Woman is one of her many...

James W Singer 31 March 2024

Johannes Vermeer, The Milkmaid, ca. 1660, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

Among many representations of domestic scenes of respectable Dutch middle-class households, there is one that never ceases to impress and capture the...

Giordana Goretti 31 March 2024

Post-Impressionism

Vincent van Gogh and Nature

Vincent van Gogh’s relationship with nature was complex, and it defined both his life and his art. The Dutch artist hated the hustle and bustle of...

Anastasia Manioudaki 30 March 2024

Post-Impressionism

Vincent van Gogh Copying Other Artists

Vincent van Gogh is famous today for two reasons. Firstly, his unstoppable creativity. He produced 2,100 artworks in just over a decade. And,...

Anastasia Manioudaki 30 March 2024

Wang Ximeng, One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, Song dynasty, 1113, ink and color on silk scroll, Palace Museum, Beijing, China. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains by Wang Ximeng

Wang Ximeng’s One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is a masterpiece of the Northern Song dynasty and of the larger history of traditional...

James W Singer 29 March 2024

Dance

A Meringue Ballerina: Anna Pavlova in Paintings

Anna Pavlova, a Russian ballerina, was highly independent for her times. She formed her own company and choreographed her own performances. She toured the world for twenty years and introduced ballet to other parts of the world. Pavlova was so famous that she was honored with a dessert named after her, it is called the Pavlova cake!

Anuradha Sroha 29 March 2024

Artist Stories

Painting a Woman: The Story of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener Through Their Art

The Danish landscape artist Lili Elvenes (1882-1931), born Einar Wegener and better known as Lili Elbe, and her spouse, the Art Deco portrait artist...

Iolanda Munck 27 March 2024

Animals

Thomas Gainsborough and His Dog Portraits

Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) was a portrait and landscape painter. During his career, he often painted dogs accompanying his sitters. He always...

Joanna Kaszubowska 26 March 2024

WTF Art History

The Pre-Raphaelites and the Wombat

Many people are obsessed with cute cats, penguins, pandas, koalas, and all sorts of animals. However one rarely hears about the wombat, especially in...

Joanna Kaszubowska 26 March 2024

Photograph showing Hundertwasserhaus, a residential building with colorful facade and vegetation on the roof. Artist Stories

Colorful World of Friedensreich Hundertwasser in 5 Works

Step into the world of Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000) as we explore his 5 extraordinary works of art and architecture bursting with colors...

Nikolina Konjevod 25 March 2024

Jean-François de Troy, Diana and Actaeon, 1734, Kunstmuseum, Basel, Switzerland. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Diana and Actaeon by Jean-François de Troy

Diana and Actaeon by Jean-François de Troy is a French masterpiece blending the exuberance of Rococo sensuality with the intellectualism of...

James W Singer 25 March 2024