European Art

Literature

An Artistic Tour of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Regardless of the time of the year, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the first things that come to mind when the word...

Ledys Chemin 5 May 2025

Fashion

Dress Like a Byzantine Empress – Byzantine Art in Fashion Collections

Have you ever wondered how Byzantine art stepped onto the catwalk? It all started with Empress Theodora and a Byzantine-inspired piece of jewelry...

Ela Bobek 5 May 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Eruption of Mount Vesuvius by Pierre-Jacques Volaire

The ground shakes and rumbles as the nearby mountain awakens with smoke emerging from its peaks. The land trembles more and a fiery blast shoots into...

James W Singer 4 May 2025

Adam Elsheimer, Flight into Egypt, 1609, oil on copper, Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Flight into Egypt by Adam Elsheimer

Flight into Egypt is a masterpiece found in the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, Germany. Human dramas are depicted with vivid...

James W Singer 4 May 2025

Vincent van Gogh, Terrace of a Café at Night, 1888, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Terrace of a Café at Night by Vincent van Gogh

Terrace of a Café at Night is a subjective expression from Van Gogh that encapsulates a moment in French...

James W Singer 4 May 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

During his stay in the Saint-Rémy hospital in southern France, Vincent van Gogh created The Starry Night. It became one of his most recognizable...

Valeria Kumekina 4 May 2025

Medieval Art

Ravenna’s Byzantine Treasures: Mosaics in San Vitale

The early medieval church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, is most famous for its spectacular mosaics. In a city full of rich, Byzantine-style...

Alexandra Kiely 2 May 2025

Animals

5 Fun Facts About Gargoyles—Quirky Creatures of the Middle Ages and Beyond

Everybody loves gargoyles! I used to think I was alone in this, but I’ve come to learn that’s not at all true. In case any of you don’t know, a...

Alexandra Kiely 2 May 2025

Viking Art: Gokstad Ship, ca 890 BCE, Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. Medieval Art

Ancient Treasures from the North: Viking Art

Vikings and their culture have interested us since the days of the Viking expansion. There are numerous TV shows about them and sports teams named...

Rachel Witte 2 May 2025

Review

The Abstract Glaciers of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham

Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s life-long obsession with glaciers is catalogued in a new book edited by Rob Airey. Biography, geology, ecology, and...

Catriona Miller 1 May 2025

Art Nouveau

Carl Strathmann’s Bizarre Cabinet of Art Nouveau Curiosities

Tired of the forever beautification of women in Art Nouveau worlds of flamboyant ornaments and stylized flowers? Then you should be looking at Carl...

Kero Fichter 1 May 2025

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau Explained

Art Nouveau is one of the most distinguished styles in art. Even though its duration was brief, it quickly became a fetish of the elite. It spread...

Errika Gerakiti 1 May 2025