Masterpiece Story: The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) was the most prolific French painter of the 18th century. He created over 550 paintings embodying the spirit of...
James W Singer 23 November 2025
Rococo
Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
Why is art history predominantly focused on male artists? Are there not enough female artists to fill textbooks? Of course, there are enough, but the...
James W Singer 9 November 2025
Jean-Étienne Liotard Breakfast Scenes
The 18th-century painter, miniaturist, and pastelist Jean-Étienne Liotard is perhaps one of the most eccentric artists of his time. Known for his...
Anna Ingram 28 October 2025
Farinelli—The Best Castrato in Portraits
Castrati were male singers who had been castrated before puberty to retain the so-called voce bianca, that is unmutated voice, which therefore was...
Magda Michalska 23 October 2025
Masterpiece Story: Bureau du Roi by Jean-Henri Riesener
Jean-Henri Riesener’s Bureau du Roi is a masterpiece of 18th-century French art. It was and still is a designer piece fit for a...
James W Singer 5 October 2025
Masterpiece Story: The Monkey Painter by Jean-Baptiste Chardin
It’s tacky! It’s funny! It’s weird! Yes, Jean-Baptiste Chardin’s The Monkey Painter is definitely not what you would consider in good taste.
James W Singer 27 July 2025
How to Look Fabulous: Rococo Women Beauty Guide
How to look fabulous? That is the question! Let’s refer to the most splendid and opulent period of history: the 18th century. The Enlightenment era...
Kateryna Martynova 7 July 2025
Venetian Art in 10 Paintings: A Journey Through Color and Light
Venice has always been more than canals and carnival masks—it’s a city that helped shape the course of European art. From the Byzantine...
Alessia Caldana 2 June 2025
Masterpiece Story: The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough
Originally titled A Portrait of a Young Gentleman, this iconic painting by Thomas Gainsborough was first presented at the Royal Academy exhibition of...
Maya M. Tola 1 June 2025
Masterpiece Story: Marriage A-la-Mode by William Hogarth
The 18th-century British painter William Hogarth created an insightful series of paintings about the arranged marriages of his times, entitled...
Pola Otterstein 25 May 2025
Masterpiece Story: Diana and Actaeon by Jean-François de Troy
Diana and Actaeon by Jean-François de Troy is a French masterpiece blending the exuberance of Rococo sensuality with the intellectualism of...
James W Singer 25 May 2025
Masterpiece Story: Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher
François Boucher (1703–1770) was the most celebrated French painter of the 18th century. His painting Madame de Pompadour captures the beautiful...
James W Singer 25 May 2025
