Painting

Artist Stories

Max Ernst and Birds: A Relationship Explained Through Paintings

Max Ernst (1891–1976) was a prolific German avant-garde artist. He was a pioneer in the early 20th-century movements of Dada and Surrealism and...

Anastasia Tsaleza 21 July 2025

Interview

The Story of Norman Rockwell’s Forgotten Model

Much has been written about Norman Rockwell’s neighbors who posed as models for his illustrations and Saturday Evening Post covers. Now 89, but...

Guest Author 21 July 2025

Post-Impressionism

Everything You Have to Know About A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

When the summer is over, we all probably miss the sunny weather, long days, and warm nights. There is a famous painting that is the quintessence of...

Zuzanna Stańska 21 July 2025

Erotica

Pillow Talk Stories: The Comfiest Beds in Paintings

When you think about it, most of the events throughout our lives take place in beds. From birth to death, beds are imbued with the ultimate...

Maia Heguiaphal 21 July 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Woman in a Large Hat by Caesar van Everdingen

Caesar van Everdingen’s Woman in a Large Hat is a captivating oil-on-linen painting that offers a fascinating glimpse into 17th-century Dutch...

Alessia Caldana 20 July 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Donkey Rides on the Beach by Isaac Israëls

As part of our link-up with the Rijksmuseum, here is one of Isaac Israel’s beach scenes. Donkey Rides is painted with a breezy freedom that...

Catriona Miller 20 July 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Sunlight and Shadow by Albert Bierstadt

Sunlight and Shadow is a beautiful painting made by Albert Bierstadt in 1862. It shows a chapel at the Castle of Lowenburg, in Wilhelmshöhe,...

Alexandra Kiely 20 July 2025

Woman with Stylus, 55-79 CE Ancient Rome

Woman with Stylus: What a Portrait Can Tell Us About Women in Ancient Rome

Woman with Stylus is an ancient Roman fresco unearthed in Pompeii nearly two millennia after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. Various details...

Natalia Iacobelli 17 July 2025

Ancient Art

Lifelike Faces of the Dead: Fayum Portraits from Roman Egypt

Though they are often referred to as “Fayum portraits”—taking their title from the location of a region in Egypt where Pharaoh Amenemhat...

Anthony de Feo 17 July 2025

WTF Art History

5 Weird Portraits from Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna

The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, one of the foremost museums in the world, owns rich holdings comprising artworks from seven millennia –...

Zuzanna Stańska 17 July 2025

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 17 July 2025

Dine & Wine

Meet Asparagus, The King of Vegetables! Not Just for Vegetarians

The season for asparagus is very short as it starts around the 23rd of April (St George’s Day) and lasts only until June. Its special qualities and...

Magda Michalska 16 July 2025