Jan Matejko (1838–1893) is one of the most famous Polish painters. When he was in his twenties, he was twice awarded the gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris, where his paintings hung alongside the works of...

The majority of sculpture that survives from ancient Cyprus are funerary stelae, elaborate grave markers to commemorate the dead. Possessing an almost mystical quality that is highly evocative and equally arresting, these emphatic monuments preserve a living memory...

Marco Battaglini is a contemporary Italian artist working in Costa Rica. In his work he mixes sacred with profane, trying to mediate between the ideals of classical beauty and the ‘anti-aesthetic’ of street art. His latest project entitled...

Peter Paul Rubens is synonymous with Flemish Baroque. His dynamic yet sensuous style made him the most popular artist of his time, running a large workshop in Antwerp that catered to royals and nobles throughout Europe. He is...

In the mid-12th century BCE, the grand palaces and sprawling kingdoms that had defined life in the Mediterranean began to deteriorate. Perhaps traveling marauders crippled the region’s trade routes, plagues decreased their populations, or natural disasters wreaked havoc on...

In the 19th century Russia historical painting was freed from formality and canons. We find a good example of this in the work of Vasily Surikov (1848-1916) who created historical paintings of deep philosophical content, many of which...

Late Tsarist Russia evokes images of great social inequality in respect of health, wealth, and happiness. In addition, it evokes images of extreme luxury, smothered in expensive fabrics and furs and layered in diamonds and pearls. Valentin Serov...