Painting

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

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

Art History 101

Artists and Paintings: Everything You Need to Know About Impressionism

Impressionism has become one of the most significant movements of modern art. The names of Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, or Edgar Degas are...

Nataliia Pecherska 8 December 2024

History

Yes, Santa Claus Is Real! His Name Is St. Nicholas

Who dressed in winter robes, bestowed gifts under the cover of night, and became a hero to children? This describes Nicholas of Myra, a Middle...

Helen Jeffery 6 December 2024

History

Vintage Claus Is Coming to Town

Today is Saint Nicholas Day, a holiday children across the world love because they get little treats if they are good (look up the Dutch version of...

Magda Michalska 6 December 2024

North American Art

Haddon Sundblom: The Artist Behind the Coca-Cola Santa Claus

Various illustrated depictions of the old St. Nicholas, or Bishop of Myra, have existed for centuries, bringing to life his story. Yet, in the end,...

Maria Frazzoni 6 December 2024

winter landscape paintings Camille Pissarro, The Louvre Under Snow, 1902, The National Gallery, London, UK. Painting

Baby, It’s Cold Outside: 7 Snowy Landscape Paintings to Enjoy

Snow. You either love it or hate it. Are you able to picture a fresh snowfall in your mind? Or is it falling outside your window as you read this...

Rachel Witte 5 December 2024

Kandinsky video: Video

Watch Kandinsky Drawing on a Rare Footage from 1926

In 1926, filmmaker Hans Cürlis, a pioneer of art documentaries, took this rare footage of the abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky on video. The...

Zuzanna Stańska, Aniela Rybak-Vaganay 4 December 2024

Gabriele Münter, Portrait of Wassily Kandinsky. Composition VIII, 1923, Expressionism

Wassily Kandinsky in 5 Abstract Paintings

As a visual genius, Wassily Kandinsky revolutionized abstract art and pioneered some of the most influential art movements of the 20th century. His...

Ruxi Rusu 4 December 2024

Music

This Looks out of Tune? Finding Dissonance in Kandinsky’s Paintings

Wassily Kandinsky painted some of the most beautiful pieces of art in a style that is instantly recognizable. The flurry of lines, colors, and...

Craig Wakerley 4 December 2024

Art History 101

A Small Guide to Still Life Symbols

You may think that all those marvelous Dutch still lifes from the 16th and 17th centuries were just some random sets of fruits, vegetables, and...

Zuzanna Stańska, Nicole Ganbold 26 November 2024