European Art

Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, 1902-1930, Barcelona, Spain, Photo by Joanna Kaszubowska. Architecture

Barcelona’s Hidden Modernista Gem: Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau

When you think of architecture in Barcelona surely Antoni Gaudí comes to mind. Barcelona is peppered with his works like panettone with raisins. But...

Joanna Kaszubowska 3 August 2023

Louisine Havemeyer Mary Cassatt Impressionism

Louisine Havemeyer and Her Modern Art Collection

A great pioneering art collector, Louisine Havemeyer (1855–1929), was the first American to patronize the French Impressionists. Together with her...

Alexandra Kiely 29 July 2023

Berthe Weill European Art

Berthe Weill: The Unknown Gallerist of the Avant-Garde

Do you know the name of the first female modern art gallery owner? Berthe Weill was born in 1865 and died in 1951 in Paris but nowadays she seems to...

Maia Heguiaphal 29 July 2023

Ancient Art

Living Memories: The Funerary Stelae of Ancient Cyprus

The majority of sculpture that survives from ancient Cyprus are funerary stelae, elaborate grave markers to commemorate the dead. Possessing an...

Marga Patterson 28 July 2023

Ancient Greece

The A to Z of Ancient Greek Pottery Terms Pt. 1

In Ancient Greece, vases were a commonplace item. There was no explanation needed as to what they were or how they were used. They each served a...

Rachel Witte 25 July 2023

Ancient Greece

The A to Z of Ancient Greek Pottery Terms Pt. 2

And so the saga continues in our adventures of learning about Ancient Greek pottery! You will probably have noticed that I chose to skip a few...

Rachel Witte 25 July 2023

View of the Menagerie at Kew, Thomas Sandby European Art

William Chambers’ Designs for the Royal Gardens at Kew

During the middle of the 18th century, landscape gardening became valued higher than a work of art in England. Landscape gardener William Chambers...

Anna Ingram 24 July 2023

Maria de Knuijt Baroque

Meet Maria de Knuijt: Was Vermeer’s Main Patron a Woman?

We all know Girl with a Pearl Earring, but have you ever wondered to whom the piece originally belonged? In light of the recent, largest Vermeer...

Nicole Ganbold 23 July 2023

Johannes Vermeer, Art of Painting, ca 1666-68, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Art of Painting by Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer is an enigmatic figure in the history of art. He is considered one of the most famous artists of the Dutch Golden Age. Why are his...

James W Singer 23 July 2023

* Johannes Vermeer, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid (c. 1670–71), National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland. Artist Stories

5 Things You Should Know About Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter who lived and worked during the Dutch Golden Age. Along with Rembrandt and Frans Hals, he is considered one of...

Anastasia Manioudaki 23 July 2023

Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece, 1432 Art History 101

10 Things You Need To Know About Jan van Eyck

Flemish painter Jan van Eyck (1390 – 1441) was one of the key artists of the Early Northern Renaissance. His technical brilliance and mastery...

Zuzanna Stańska 21 July 2023

Museum Stories

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium: Staff Picks

The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium are located in Brussels, the capital of Belgium and of the European Union. This complex institution has a...

Nicole Ganbold 21 July 2023