European Art

Cornelis Saftleven, Who Sues for a Cow?, 1629, oil on wood panel, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Who Sues for a Cow by Cornelis Saftleven

Who Sues for a Cow is a masterpiece of social commentary by now-forgotten artist, Cornelis Saftleven. It is a strange painting from the Dutch Golden...

James W Singer 16 January 2023

Artist Stories

10 Things You Should Know About Titian

Titian, or Tiziano Vecellio, (1490–1576) was an Italian painter active in Venice in the 16th century. He is considered the greatest painter in the...

Anastasia Manioudaki 11 January 2023

Mary Beale. Mary Beale, Self-portrait, c. 1670, Moyses Hall Museum, Bury St Edmunds, London, UK. Women Artists

Mary Beale – England’s First Professional Female Artist

Mary Beale was a Baroque painter from the 17th century. Her talent led her to become the first professional British female artist. Luckily, she...

Jimena Escoto 8 January 2023

Women Artists

Fede Galizia: The Great Old Master of Her Time

Fede Galizia was an Italian early modern painter of still lifes, portraits, and religious pictures. Although she has remained in the shadows for...

Anna Ingram 8 January 2023

Women Artists

5 Things You Should Know About Michaelina Wautier

Michaelina Wautier was born in Mons in 1604. This Flemish painter has been absent in art history for many years, but her life and work are slowly...

Vithória Konzen Dill 8 January 2023

Artist Stories

Die Brücke’s Magician: Otto Mueller

Is Die Brücke talked about enough? Its importance for the development of modern art cannot be denied. However, it got lost between various movements...

Magda Michalska 3 January 2023

Sean Scully, Passenger Light Light, 1998, Sammlung Klein, Nussdorf, Germany. MSU. Detail. Contemporary Art

Sean Scully: Artist of Abstract Stories

Sean Scully gradually deconstructs human figures and then completely eliminates them. Here you will learn more about Sean Scully’s paintings...

Petra Dragasevic 2 January 2023

Sculpture

The Lansdowne Heracles at the Getty Villa

Heracles (or Hercules) is perhaps the most frequently depicted hero in Greek and Roman art. This sculpture from approximately 125 CE, known as the...

Maya M. Tola 29 December 2022

European Art

Boxing Day with St. Stephen

According to the Catholic calendar, the second day of Christmas commemorates St. Stephen. He was a young deacon in the community of Jerusalem who...

Magda Michalska 26 December 2022

Art State of Mind

Christmas Cards from Hell

As the postman brings you cheery season’s greetings from your nearest and dearest, let me guess what the images are on the front of your Christmas...

Candy Bedworth 25 December 2022

Renaissance

Most Famous Winter in Art History: Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel

In the Bruegel Room in Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, 12 paintings hang in the space. They cover the final ten year period of the life of Pieter...

Wendy Gray 21 December 2022

Painting

Paintings for Hanukkah

December is not just about Christmas, it is also about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. It is an eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights” which...

Magda Michalska 19 December 2022