Painting

Giacomo Balla, Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, 1912, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, NY, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash by Giacomo Balla

Giacomo Balla’s Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash is a masterpiece of pet images, Futurism, and early 20th-century Italian...

James W Singer, 23 February 2025

Jo Van Gogh Bonger, Vincent Van Gogh, Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, 1887 Painting

A Fire in His Soul: How Paris Changed Vincent van Gogh

In his new book A Fire in His Soul, Miles J. Unger gives us Vincent van Gogh as we’ve never seen him before—abrasive, intransigent, egotistical,...

Ledys Chemin 21 February 2025

Painting

Where Is the Queen? Black Women in Western Art

For centuries, Black women appeared in Western art as slaves, servants, or exotic novelties. But as regal queens and leaders? Shamefully not. We will...

Candy Bedworth 17 February 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The African King Caspar by Hendrik Heerschop

White subjects have dominated the Western art tradition for millennia, while people of color have been vastly underrepresented and misrepresented.

James W Singer 16 February 2025

Abstract Expressionism

The Irascibles: The Birth of American Abstract Expressionism

This photograph of New York-based Abstract Expressionist painters was published in Life magazine in January of 1951. The photograph, dubbed “The...

Tom Anderson 13 February 2025

European Art

The First-Ever Femme Fatale: Lilith in Paintings

The apparent sweetness of this work by John Collier (1850–1934), a Pre-Raphaelite painter, is a wonderful testimony of the two sides of Lilith’s...

Guest Author 13 February 2025

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 13 February 2025

Asian Art

Hanuman: The Revered Monkey God in Hindu Mythology

The revered monkey god Hanuman is one of the most iconic in Hindu mythology. He embodies unparalleled strength, unwavering devotion, and boundless...

Maya M. Tola 12 February 2025

Animals

Holy Cow! Why Did the Dutch Painters Love Cows?

Every time I look at 17th-century Dutch paintings, I ask myself the same question: why do they always show cows? You will probably think this is a...

Magda Michalska 12 February 2025

Renaissance

Sistine Chapel: Michelangelo, the Warrior Pope and God’s Bottom

No, I am not indulging in casual profanity, in this painting, we are actually looking at God’s bare bottom and it graces the ceiling of the Sistine...

Guest Author 10 February 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Street, Dresden by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

The swirling crowds and electric lights of the modern city. This is the subject of today’s Masterpiece Story, created by one of the greatest...

Zuzanna Stańska 9 February 2025

Vilho Lampi, Nocturne, 1930, oil on plywood, Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki, Finland. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Nocturne by Vilho Lampi

Vilho Lampi’s Nocturne is a masterpiece of Finnish Expressionism that explores the complex relationship between the artist and his...

James W Singer 9 February 2025