Baroque

Artist Stories

Han van Meegeren: Vermeer’s Forger And His Fakes

Who wouldn’t love to discover an unknown original painting by Johannes Vermeer? It must be a blissful moment to find an untouched and unspoiled...

Magda Michalska 1 April 2024

Judith Leyster, Man Offering Money to a Young Woman, 1631, oil on panel, Mauritshuis, Den Haag, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Man Offering Money to a Young Woman by Judith Leyster

Judith Leyster was a powerhouse female artist of the Dutch Golden Age. Man Offering Money to a Young Woman is one of her many...

James W Singer 31 March 2024

Johannes Vermeer, The Milkmaid, ca. 1660, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

Among many representations of domestic scenes of respectable Dutch middle-class households, there is one that never ceases to impress and capture the...

Giordana Goretti 31 March 2024

Baroque

Peter Paul Rubens in 10 Paintings

A Baroque master and portraitist of the royals, Peter Paul Rubens is probably best known for his often drama-filled religious and mythological...

Anna Ingram 28 March 2024

Bizarre

Chilling Beauty: Exploring Europe’s Bone Churches

From the ancient period through the 18th century, European Catholics and Orthodox Christians displayed and maintained bones of the deceased to honor...

Julia Bourbois 28 March 2024

Women Artists

Elisabetta Sirani: Pioneer, Teacher and Artist

Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665) was born in Bologna, a progressive city with a liberal attitude towards educating women. She was a pioneering female...

Gokce Dyson 22 March 2024

Caravaggio, The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, 1610, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Naples, Italy. Baroque

Caravaggio’s Last Painting: The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula

In May 1610, Caravaggio completed The Martyrdom of St Ursula. Two months later, he was dead. We investigate the story behind his last commission,...

Catriona Miller 17 March 2024

News

Gesina ter Borch’s Sole Signed Painting Emerges at an Art Fair

Recently Rijksmuseum announced an acquisition of a highly sought-after newly emerged work by a Dutch Golden Age artist, Gesina ter Borch. This...

Nicole Ganbold 15 March 2024

Baroque

The Art of Story Telling: The Abduction of the Sabine Women

According to popular belief, there are only seven plot types in storytelling. Hence it is not surprising to find artists inspired by the same...

Wendy Gray 15 March 2024

Dine & Wine

Baroque Foodies – Social Media of the Dutch Golden Age

Carefully arranged plates of food surrounded by carefully planned out backgrounds, images with hidden meanings, a snapshot of wealth… What may...

Rachel Witte 13 March 2024

Artemisia Gentileschi, Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–c. 1656) was “one of the best Italian Baroque painters.” Despite this, you won’t find any of her works in...

Chris Dobson 10 March 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola by Anthony van Dyck

Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish painter born in Antwerp (then Spanish Netherlands, now Belgium) in 1599 and passed away in London in 1641. From 1621...

Soledad Castillo Jara 10 March 2024