Ancient Art

Ancient Rome

Masterpiece Story: Mithras Slaying the Bull

Mithras Slaying the Bull is a compilation of the entire religious and symbolic images of Mithraism. It reflects promised immortality and personal...

James W Singer 21 January 2024

St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican, Photograph by Alvesgaspar Architecture

Masterpiece Story: St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican

St. Peter’s Basilica is one of the most iconic buildings in Western culture. But, the facade we see today is the culmination of centuries of...

Ledys Chemin 7 January 2024

Design

Turquoise: Art, Culture, and Myth of a Gemstone

The bright blue-green Turquoise has been valued and revered for centuries by all the cultures around the world that had access to it. Several...

Nadine Waldmann 30 December 2023

Ancient Egypt

Nefertiti as a Beauty Icon

Nefertiti is a beauty icon and one of the most powerful women who has inspired us throughout centuries. Responding to the rhythms of the age, she...

Marina Kochetkova 25 December 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 14 December 2023

Striding Lion, 604-562 BCE, glazed clay bricks, Processional Way, Babylon, Iraq, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Striding Lion from the Ishtar Gate

Striding Lion is a masterpiece of Mesopotamian art with monumental size and composition. It symbolizes the strength of King Nebuchadnezzar II and the...

James W Singer 5 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Fowling in the Marshes

Ancient Egypt. The famous land of Tutankhamun evokes popular images of pyramids, mummies, and tombs. It left an artistic heritage that is still...

James W Singer 3 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Judgement Scene from Book of the Dead of Hunefer

Death continues to be one of the greatest fears of human society. Since the dawn of recorded history through the centuries of plague, pestilence, and...

James W Singer 3 December 2023

Sculpture

A Great Mystery: Sanxingdui Masks

Who doesn’t love a mystery? Especially an art history mystery. Made by a previously unknown Chinese kingdom, the 3,000-year-old bronze...

Nadine Waldmann 30 November 2023

Standing Bodhisattva, 3rd century, gray schist stone, Gandhara, Pakistan, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Standing Bodhisattva

Standing Bodhisattva is a great example of Gandharan art and its blended multicultural origins: East meets...

James W Singer 18 November 2023

Asian Art

The Eighth Wonder of the World: Terracotta Army

When people mention the Terracotta Army, the first thing that comes to mind is the phrase “the eighth wonder of the world”. It is a symbol of...

Marina Kochetkova 13 November 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 8 November 2023