Special

Wang Ximeng, One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, Song dynasty, 1113, ink and color on silk scroll, Palace Museum, Beijing, China. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains by Wang Ximeng

Wang Ximeng’s One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is a masterpiece of the Northern Song dynasty and of the larger history of traditional...

James W Singer 29 March 2024

Baroque

Peter Paul Rubens in 10 Paintings

A Baroque master and portraitist of the royals, Peter Paul Rubens is probably best known for his often drama-filled religious and mythological...

Anna Ingram 28 March 2024

Bizarre

Chilling Beauty: Exploring Europe’s Bone Churches

From the ancient period through the 18th century, European Catholics and Orthodox Christians displayed and maintained bones of the deceased to honor...

Julia Bourbois 28 March 2024

Art Travels

Exploring the Tomb Raider Temple – Ta Prohm in Cambodia

Nicknamed as the Tomb Raider Temple, Ta Prohm along with the Bayon and the Angkor Wat tamples are among the most visited sites in northern Cambodia.

Maya M. Tola 28 March 2024

Art Travels

All You Need to Know About the Duomo of Florence

Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo of Florence, along with Giotto’s Campanile and Baptistery of Saint John are designated UNESCO...

Maya M. Tola 28 March 2024

Artist Stories

Painting a Woman: The Story of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener Through Their Art

The Danish landscape artist Lili Elvenes (1882-1931), born Einar Wegener and better known as Lili Elbe, and her spouse, the Art Deco portrait artist...

Iolanda Munck 27 March 2024

Art Nouveau

Loïe Fuller the Magical Dancer of Art Nouveau

Today we meet the performer Loïe Fuller, one of Art Nouveau’s most celebrated performers. She was a dancer and actress best known for her...

Europeana 27 March 2024

Art Nouveau

Ethel Reed – When a Meteor Crossed the Night Sky of Art Nouveau

If you’ve heard of Ethel Reed, you are probably either a devotee of late-19th-century American poster art or an art history student. After the...

Wen Gu 27 March 2024

Women Artists

From St. Petersburg to Hamburg: The Artistic Odyssey of Elena Luksch-Makowsky

Elena Luksch-Makowsky was a trailblazing painter and sculptor whose work traversed the cultural landscapes of St. Petersburg, Vienna, and Hamburg. In...

Marija Canjuga 27 March 2024

Literature

Writing Poetry and Inspiring Painters: Portraits of Anna Akhmatova

It is hard to say how many portraits of the poet Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966) exist – she was painted by many famous artists of the 20th century. She...

Elizaveta Ermakova 27 March 2024

Ende, Prologue, On the Church, Gerona Beatus, Miniature, ca. 975 CE Women Artists

Ende: The First Documented Spanish Female Manuscript Illuminator

She is an enigma, an ancient, foggy artist from northern Spain in the Middle Ages. We learn nothing about Ende’s identity, life, or whether she...

Wen Gu 26 March 2024

Animals

Secrets of Pets in Art

There’s nothing better than going to a museum and spotting a cute pet hidden in a painting. I mean, after all, one of art’s functions is...

Marta Wiktoria Bryll 26 March 2024