Sculpture

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, 1647-1652, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Roma, Italia. Masterpiece Stories

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Divine Bliss or Pure Erotic Pleasure?

Among the works of the famous sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680), the sculptural group called Ecstasy of Saint Teresa remains...

Montaine Dumont 4 August 2023

Ana Mendieta, On Giving Life, 1975 Herstory

Identity and Belonging in the Work of Ana Mendieta

Ana Mendieta, the Cuban-American performance artist was an unapologetic feminist who asked profound questions about identity and belonging.

Candy Bedworth 3 August 2023

Group of three figurines, Early Cycladic II, early spedos type, museum number K9, Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe, Germany. Detail. Ancient Art

Demystifying Cycladic Figurines

Cycladic figurines have a mythical aura. Their gleaming abstract forms speak of timeless beauty. But what actually are they? Why do they look like a...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 28 July 2023

Ancient Art

Living Memories: The Funerary Stelae of Ancient Cyprus

The majority of sculpture that survives from ancient Cyprus are funerary stelae, elaborate grave markers to commemorate the dead. Possessing an...

Marga Patterson 28 July 2023

Parthian female Statuettes Ancient Art

Mysterious Female Nude Statuettes of the Parthian Empire

Several female nude statuettes have been unearthed from the subterranean landscape of ancient Iraq. Rendered in the Greco-Babylonian style, these...

Marga Patterson 18 July 2023

Asian Art

A Luxurious Desire: Ancient Near Eastern Ivory Carvings

The allure of ivory, a lustrous material that gleams and glows when polished, exudes warmth and mysterious beauty. Near Eastern ivory carvings are...

Marga Patterson 18 July 2023

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek Splendour: The Erechtheion Caryatids

I visited Athens, Greece in the summer of 2016. Naturally, a visit to the Acropolis was mandatory, and it was as beautiful and epic as you can...

Nadine Waldmann 3 July 2023

Bizarre

The Intriguing Tale of Shocking Sheela Na Gig and Its Art References

Everyone remembers their first sighting of a Sheela Na Gig. Wandering around an old church, breathing in the architecture, the history, the silence.

Candy Bedworth 3 July 2023

Muisca Raft, ca 600-1600, gold, Museo del Oro, Bogotá, Colombia. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Muisca Raft

The Muisca Raft is a masterpiece of Pre-Columbian art. It was created by the Muisca people who lived in a region of today’s Colombia. Muisca...

James W Singer 27 June 2023

South American Art

Art and Ritual: Culture of the Enigmatic Moche People

The Moche were an ancient, Indigenous people of Andean Peru. They are considered to be one of the most influential civilizations of the ancient...

Marga Patterson 27 June 2023

Women Artists

10 Great Women Sculptors You Should Know

Just like traditionally in painting, art history has acknowledged mainly male sculptors. However, that doesn’t mean that women haven’t made...

Errika Gerakiti 26 June 2023

Women Artists

Claire Falkenstein: Wire and Venetian Glass Sculptures

American sculptor Claire Falkenstein (1908–1997) was highly successful in her days, but today her story rarely resurfaces on the pages of art...

Magda Michalska 23 June 2023