History

Snake in art, Katsushika Hokusai, The Lute and the White Snake of Benten (Sarasvati), 1847 Asian Art

Snake in East Asian Art: Happy Lunar New Year!

The 2025 Lunar New Year, begins on January 29th. This is the Year of the Wood Snake, sixth animal of the Chinese zodiac, known for wisdom and intuition. Let us take a look at some of the East Asian art history that celebrates this awesome animal!

Candy Bedworth 28 January 2025

Asian Art

Edo Period in 10 Words and 4 Schools of Painting

Edo period in Japan lasted from 1603 to 1867/1868. During this time the country was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate. Those 250 years were a time of...

Joanna Kaszubowska 28 January 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David

In a Neoclassicist masterpiece painted on the eve of the French Revolution, Jacques-Louis David depicts the beginning of an epic Roman story in The...

Coleman Richards 26 January 2025

Académie Vitti, c. 1889, Montparnasse, Paris. History

Académie Vitti: Parisian Art School for Women

A private art school in Paris founded in 1889, the Académie Vitti was one of the first schools to accept female students and to allow women to study...

Natalia Iacobelli 24 January 2025

Paris Salon. Alexandre Jean-Baptiste Brun, View of the Salon Carré at the Louvre, ca. 1880, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. Art History 101

Paris Salon: 101 on France’s First Public Exhibition

If you were an artist in the 19th century, you probably dreamed of having your painting in the Paris Salon. Simply put, this exhibition was the most...

Jimena Escoto 24 January 2025

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 24 January 2025

Animals

Practical, Erotic and Magical: The Miniature World of Netsuke

Originating in 17th-century Japan during the Edo Period, Netsuke (pronounced nets-keh) are toggles that attach pouches to the traditional robes,...

Nadine Waldmann 21 January 2025

Art Travels

The Qutub Complex: Architecture of the Early Islamic Period in India

The Qutub Minar complex is a collection of architectural marvels located at the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in New Delhi, India. The complex...

Maya M. Tola 20 January 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: David by Michelangelo

The biblical figure of David, the young shepherd who defeated Goliath, was a popular subject for sculptors during the Renaissance. However, no...

Vithória Konzen Dill 17 January 2025

Painting

One Final Masterpiece: 7 Last Paintings from Great Masters

Hippocrates said that life is short, and art is long. Every great artist left behind iconic works of art that have lived long after their death. Some...

Sam Malone 13 January 2025

Ancient Rome

How to Identify a Roman Emperor by His Beard

How many times have you walked into a museum full of statues or busts and not been able to tell one ancient sculpture from another? It can be...

Lauren Dorsey 10 January 2025

Design

Cameo Carving: The Art of Transforming Shell and Stone

Cameo carving has existed since long before ancient times. These cherished treasures were often made of hardstone, seashells or coral. Historically,...

Marga Patterson 9 January 2025