Regions

Dioskourides, Gemma Augustea, 9-12 CE, sardonyx and gold, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Gemma Augustea by Dioskourides

The Gemma Augustea is the second largest cameo surviving from antiquity, and one of the most artistically valuable pieces of ancient Roman art. It is...

James W Singer 17 May 2026

Baroque

Masterpiece Story: Apollo and Daphne by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Apollo and Daphne, one of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s first major commissions, was completed between 1622 and 1625 for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a...

Maya M. Tola 17 May 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio

The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio depicts the moment Matthew turns away from tax collecting and toward Jesus. Caravaggio was a master of...

Guest Author 17 May 2026

Renaissance

Masterpiece Story: Pietà by Michelangelo

The Pietà–or Virgin of Pity–is the representation of the Blessed Virgin holding her divine son on her knees. This iconic type entered Italy...

Montaine Dumont 17 May 2026

Ancient Rome

Masterpiece Story: Mithras Slaying the Bull

Mithras Slaying the Bull is a compilation of the entire religious and symbolic images of Mithraism. It reflects promised immortality and personal...

James W Singer 17 May 2026

Quiz

QUIZ: How Much Do You Know About Picasso?

Ruxi Rusu 16 May 2026

Art State of Mind

Boys with Plants in Art (Hotties Alert!)

Boys and men posing with plants and flowers is a popular theme in art. The concept was revisited on Instagram, a social media platform on the account...

Anuradha Sroha 15 May 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Still Life by Henri Fantin-Latour

The greatest happiness can be found in the simple pleasures of daily life. Such simplicities could include the taste of fresh fruit, the smell of...

James W Singer 15 May 2026

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond (died 1788), 1785, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. Detail. Women Artists

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard: Female Icon of 18th-Century Paris

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard was one of the most prominent women artists of the end of the 18th century in Paris. Despite misogynistic policies for...

Jimena Escoto 14 May 2026

European Art

Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson You Have Never Seen Before

There is a dead man on the table. His skullcap has been removed, and someone loosens the meninges with a lancet. Not an easy sight, yet fascinating:...

Guest Author 14 May 2026

Contemporary Art

Faces of Fame: 6 Lucian Freud Portraits of Celebrities Unfiltered

Lucian Freud stripped his subjects bare, both literally and metaphorically. Over his long career, the British painter captured the likenesses of...

Elizabeth Provost 14 May 2026

Erotica

The Unashamed Gaze: The Story of Goya’s Naked (and Clothed) Maja

Which one do you prefer? The Naked Maja or The Clothed Maja? – this question might have been asked by the painter Francisco Goya when he completed...

Magda Michalska 14 May 2026