Realism

Love Story

Unhappily Ever After: Unequal Marriage by Vasili Pukirev

Vasili Pukirev’s painting, Unequal Marriage, has a legend surrounding it. Allegedly, after looking at it all the elderly grooms refused to marry...

Elizaveta Ermakova 19 March 2024

Édouard Manet boating: Édouard Manet, Boating, 1874. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Boating by Édouard Manet

Known as the father of modernism in art, Édouard Manet was a key figure in the shift from Realism to Impressionism. Finding the guidelines of the...

Natalia Iacobelli 7 March 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Death of Barbara Radziwiłł by Józef Simmler

The National Museum in Warsaw is one of the largest museums in Poland and boasts an extensive art collection. Among its body of works is The Death of...

James W Singer 3 March 2024

Frants Henningsen, Funeral, 1883, National Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Funeral by Frants Henningsen

Funeral by Frants Henningsen is a Danish masterpiece of emotions. It examines the different psychological reactions to love, loss, and...

James W Singer 18 February 2024

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City, 1885, White House, Washington DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City by Henry Ossawa Tanner

Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City is a masterpiece of Black art and history. It was painted by Henry Ossawa Tanner during a time of incredible...

James W Singer 4 February 2024

manet monet quiz Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Luncheon on the Grass by Édouard Manet

Édouard Manet’s The Luncheon on the Grass (Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe) (1863) was one of the first works that broke away from established...

Catriona Miller 23 January 2024

Artist Stories

Stroll Through Paris with Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper is known as one of the premier recorders of American mid-century life. Or mid-century malaise might be a better way to put it:...

Louisa Mahoney 4 January 2024

Frederic Edwin Church aurora borealis: Frederic Edwin Church, Aurora Borealis, 1865, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Aurora Borealis by Frederic Edwin Church

Aurora Borealis is an American national treasure. It explores the relationship between the land, its viewer, and its destiny. It is a masterpiece of...

James W Singer 27 December 2023

manet bar at the folies bergere Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Édouard Manet

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère is considered Édouard Manet’s last major painting. Presented in the Paris Salon of 1882, just a year before the...

Anastasia Manioudaki 17 December 2023

Artist Stories

Vasily Vereshchagin – Journey through India

Vasily Vereshchagin was a notable Russian soldier, artist, and writer from the 19th century. He was an outspoken critic of war who reformed the genre...

Maya M. Tola 17 November 2023

Realism

Eid Al-Fitr – Islamic Prayer in Art

The distinctive ritual of Islamic prayer, known as namaz (in Urdu) or salah (in Arabic) has captivated the imagination of many Orientalist painters.

Maya M. Tola 8 October 2023

Art State of Mind

The Allure of Ruins – Architectural Decay in Art

There is a haunting beauty in architectural ruins. War or the passage of time has ravaged the magnificent feats of earlier civilizations. But in...

Maya M. Tola 11 September 2023