European Art

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Grace Dalrymple Elliott by Thomas Gainsborough

The Frick Collection has an amazing ensemble of European masters. For example, works by Vermeer, Fragonard, and Goya grace its walls. Every room has...

James W Singer 10 November 2024

Romanticism. Théodore Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1819, Musée de Louvre, Paris, France. Romanticism

Art History 101: Everything You Need to Know About Romanticism

At the end of the 18th century, artists began to reject the ideas of the Enlightenment which prioritized reason above all. They wanted to consider...

Jimena Escoto 8 November 2024

Romanticism

6 Shades of Romantic Creepiness in Caspar David Friedrich’s Paintings

Caspar David Friedrich was a master of romantic atmosphere. Gothic ruins, contemplative figures silhouetted against skies and morning mists were his...

Zuzanna Stańska 8 November 2024

Volcanoes in Painting:Joseph Wright of Derby, Vesuvius from Portici, 1774. Romanticism

When Romanticism Meets Eruptions: Volcanoes in Paintings

Active volcanoes are great places to visit, but the danger of a potential eruption is always there. When some of them erupted with artists as...

Maia Heguiaphal 8 November 2024

Baroque

5 Still Lifes by Francisco de Zurbarán You Need to Know

Although he is best known for his religious themes, Francisco de Zurbarán created wonderful still lifes that stand out for their simplicity and, at...

Andra Patricia Ritisan 7 November 2024

tenebrism: Gerard van Honthorst, The Procuress, 1625, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Art History 101

Tenebrism 101: All You Need to Know

The Baroque movement, which characterizes much of the European art of the 17th century, is known for its dramatic flair. Gods, demigods, and saints...

Anastasia Manioudaki 7 November 2024

Georges de La Tour, The Fortune Teller Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Fortune Teller by Georges de La Tour

The Fortune Teller is one of Georges de La Tour’s early masterpieces. The Baroque oil painting, once questioned by the Louvre Museum for its...

Anna Ingram 7 November 2024

Baroque

Caravaggisti: Fans, Epigons, Masters?

Caravaggio made an impact on painting even during his lifetime. This was probably because he acted in defiance of all the norms of the Catholic...

Magda Michalska 7 November 2024

Baroque

Francisco de Zurbarán: The Spanish Caravaggio

Francisco de Zurbarán was one of the major Spanish painters of the 17th century. He is especially known for his religious subjects and for the...

Vithória Konzen Dill 7 November 2024

Art Nouveau

René Lalique, The Master Jeweler of Art Nouveau

René Lalique (1860-1945) was a French jeweler and one of Art Nouveau’s most renowned craftsmen. Trained in Paris and London, Lalique was unusual...

Europeana 6 November 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Railway by Édouard Manet

In 1873 when this painting was created by the Realist master Édouard Manet, the Gare Saint–Lazare was the largest and busiest train station in...

Zuzanna Stańska 5 November 2024

Impressionism

Claude Monet and Saint Lazare Train Station

Between 1853 and 1870 Paris has been renovated and modernized by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, commonly known as Baron Haussmann. This prefect of the...

Zuzanna Stańska 5 November 2024