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Dine & Wine

Paris Bistros: Iconic Places and Space for Art

Is there something more iconic for Paris than its bistros (after the Eiffel Tower, of course)? Let’s have a closer look at the artistic...

Camilla de Laurentis 9 December 2023

Art Travels

The Beautiful Parisian Scenes of Jean Béraud

In the first quarter of the 20th century, Paris was the center of artistic and intellectual activity. Artists, actors, dancers, poets, writers,...

Errika Gerakiti 9 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Venerable Celestial Bodhiruma

Imperial Chinese art has a long history stretching through many dynasties and many centuries. Many social, political, and economic factors have...

James W Singer 8 December 2023

Art History 101

The Art of Mandala – An Artistic Road Towards Enlightenment

The art of the mandala is like a secret language of the soul. It represents both a map of the cosmos and the soul’s progress through meditation...

Marina Kochetkova 8 December 2023

Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, ca 1766-1833, lacquered gilt wood, Vietnam, Musée Guimet, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara

Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara was donated to the Musée Guimet in Paris, France, in 1889 by French archeologist Gustave Dumoutier. It represents the...

James W Singer 7 December 2023

Asian Art

Late Mughal Atelier: An Art Historical Journey Through Two Masterpieces by Fayzullah

Fayzullah was a renowned artist of the royal Mughal atelier in the late 18th century, during the reign of Alamgir II. Two of his masterpieces,...

Maya M. Tola, 7 December 2023

Attributed to the Workshop of Nicholas Hilliard, Elizabeth I Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Elizabeth I

The portrait of Elizabeth I is attributed to the workshop of Nicholas Hilliard and showcases the queen in her sixties. Similar to other images of...

Anna Ingram 7 December 2023

North American Art

The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Thomas Nast’s Santa Claus

Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, Old St. Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Papa Noel, Weihnachtsmann. Whatever your culture is, he is a man of many...

Rachel Witte 6 December 2023

North American Art

Ed Wheeler’s Santa Classics: Santa Claus and Masterpieces

Photographer Ed Wheeler has been dressing up as Santa Claus for years and posing in hilarious compositions. He started over  20 years ago with...

Zuzanna Stańska 5 December 2023

Striding Lion, 604-562 BCE, glazed clay bricks, Processional Way, Babylon, Iraq, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Striding Lion from the Ishtar Gate

Striding Lion is a masterpiece of Mesopotamian art with monumental size and composition. It symbolizes the strength of King Nebuchadnezzar II and the...

James W Singer 5 December 2023

Artist Stories

Vive la Belle Époque! The Story of Giovanni Boldini and Franca Florio

The history of the Belle Époque reveals many scandalous stories. Behind the elegant portraits interesting lives of grand dames and adventurous...

Giordana Goretti 5 December 2023

Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1802, Château de Versailles, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps is one of the most famous and politically iconic images of European art history. However, it is a...

James W Singer 4 December 2023