Masterpiece Story: Truth Coming Out of Her Well by Jean-Léon Gérôme
A fair-skinned woman, nude. Mouth open in either shock, rage, or maybe even disgust, as she emerges from a well. One leg is already draped over the...
Kristin Urban 14 July 2024
Academic Art
Masterpiece Story: The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat by John Weguelin
Here is a Masterpiece Story to honor our beloved cats. The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat by John Weguelin presents an imaginative interpretation of an...
Alexandra Kiely 7 July 2024
Roberto Ferri: When Contemporary Art Meets Academicism (NSFW)
People often picture contemporary art as a mixed-media practice on current topics set apart from classic styles. However, the art of Roberto Ferri...
Errika Gerakiti 17 June 2024
Masterpiece Story: Anguish by August Friedrich Schenck
Surrounded by menacing crows, a mother sheep wails in anguish as her lifeless young lamb rests on a snowy bed. This scene, painted by August...
Montaine Dumont 17 June 2024
Constructing Racism in Western Art – Hans Makart and the Case of Cleopatra
When Netflix cast Black actress Adele James as Cleopatra in a docu-series on the life of the famous Egyptian queen, the world went viral in a heated...
Kero Fichter 29 April 2024
Masterpiece Story: Birth of Venus by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
The Birth of Venus is probably the most famous painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and it is considered a masterpiece of French Academic...
James W Singer 24 March 2024
Masterpiece Story: The Reluctant Bride by Auguste Toulmouche
Have you ever seen a bride more… angry? Should this not be the happiest day of her life? The Reluctant Bride or The Hesitant Fiancée by Auguste...
Jimena Escoto 19 March 2024
Constance Mayer and Pierre Prud’hon: Better Together?
Constance Mayer (1775-1821) was one of a generation of women artists who took advantage of the new freedoms offered by the French Revolution. She...
Catriona Miller 18 March 2024
Powerful Women in Paintings
The female form has been revered since time immemorial and women adorn artworks of all mediums portraying all imaginable aspects of femininity. These...
Maya M. Tola 8 March 2024
Masterpiece Story: Cleopatra by Alexandre Cabanel
Queen Cleopatra is a popular subject today – as she was in the late 19th century. Alexandre Cabanel’s Cleopatra explores a single moment of her...
James W Singer 3 March 2024
Education Matters! Women in Art Academies
From the 17th to the 19th century, art academies across Europe and America excluded women from their classrooms. Only a few of them count as...
Jimena Escoto 24 January 2024
Six of the World’s Most Famous Art Academies
Have you ever wondered where the world’s most famous artists went to school? Many studied at one (or more) of these six art academies. The schools...
Alexandra Kiely 24 January 2024
