Academic Art

William Adolphe Bouguereau, Birth of Venus, 1879, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

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 19 November 2023

Anguish August Friedrich Schenck Masterpiece Stories

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 4 October 2023

Masterpiece Stories

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 28 September 2023

Hubert Robert, Roman Ruins, ca. 1776. Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris, Paris, France. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Academic Art

Robert of the Ruins: Idealized Ruins by Hubert Robert

Hubert Robert was an immensely popular French painter from the 18th century best known for his skillful landscapes, particularly his landscapes that...

Maya M. Tola 11 September 2023

Painting

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 17 July 2023

Masterpiece Stories

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 27 May 2023

Academic Art

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 3 May 2023

Artist Stories

Life and Art of José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior

José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850–1899) was a popular Brazilian artist from the late 19th century. His commendable paintings paved the...

Maya M. Tola 30 March 2023

Constance Mayer: constance mayer Women Artists

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 13 March 2023

William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Dante and Virgil in Hell, 1850, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France. Detail. Academic Art

The Naked Truth About Nudes in Academic Art

Academicism was the dominant style in European art in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was called so because it was dictated by the French Academy of...

Magda Michalska 21 February 2023

Artist Stories

An Orientalist from the Orient: Theodoros Rallis

Not every Orientalist painter journeyed to the Orient or the Levant to observe and interact with the socio-cultural fabric they intended to portray...

Erol Degirmenci 3 November 2022

Alexandre Cabanel, Cleopatra, 1887, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

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 November 2022