Bizarre

"3. Marian Henel, Big Butts (excerpt), 1981, 240x480 cm, photo by A. Podstawka.jpg" Bizarre

Marian Henel—Tapestries and Madness

Marian Henel’s tapestries are huge. The largest one measures over 6 m in length and 3 m in width (19 ft. 8 in. by 9 ft. 10 in.). Created in the...

Zuzanna Stańska 22 May 2026

Bizarre

The Mystery of Dürer’s Magic Square

Many very strange symbols appear in Albrecht Dürer’s famous engraving Melencolia I. Among them is a magic constant 34, a well-known and enigmatic...

Zuzanna Stańska 21 May 2026

Flower Symbolism in Art. Adriaen van Utrecht, Still Life with Bouquet and Skull, c. 1642. Private collection. Via Wikimedia Commons. Painting

The Flora of Folklore: Hidden Flower Symbolism in Art’s Greatest Paintings

Every Old Master canvas speaks in two registers at once: one for the eye, one for those who know how to read the flowers. Artists used flower...

Errika Gerakiti 18 May 2026

Review

A Dog with the Face of Elon Musk Kneeled in Front of Me, and It Wasn’t a Dream—Beeple in Berlin

Last week, I entered the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin for a press meeting with Beeple. I was too early and looked for the restroom, and suddenly...

Kate Wojtczak 18 May 2026

European Art

Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson You Have Never Seen Before

There is a dead man on the table. His skullcap has been removed, and someone loosens the meninges with a lancet. Not an easy sight, yet fascinating:...

Guest Author 14 May 2026

Hieronymus Bosch, Death and the Miser, ca 1485-90, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Death and the Miser by Hieronymus Bosch

Death and the Miser is a masterpiece of morbid curiosity. It reflects on the tension between the pursuit of wealth and the inevitability of death,...

James W Singer 8 May 2026

Theater & Cinema

The Best Star Wars and Classic Art Mashups

It is fascinating how people combine two products of culture that are so different – classic art and Star Wars. Here you will find the best (in our...

Zuzanna Stańska 4 May 2026

Art History 101

What Is a Wunderkammer? Best Cabinets of Curiosities

The characteristic of arousing surprise for the observer is typical for the so-called Wunderkammer or Cabinet of Curiosities. These are real rooms of...

Caroline Galambosova 4 May 2026

South American Art

Fernando Botero and His Remakes of Classic Masterpieces

I must tell you something in secret – I love Fernando Botero’s works. Many of his works were inspired by classic art. Or maybe...

Zuzanna Stańska, Aniela Rybak-Vaganay 20 April 2026

WTF Art History

Listen to the Butt Music on Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights

Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights is a three-part altarpiece showing the Garden of Eden on the left and a vision of hell on the right.

Zuzanna Stańska 14 April 2026

Sculpture

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt and His Bizarre Character Heads

The so-called character heads created by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt are not only a bizarre collection of sculptures but also a unique portrayal of...

Zuzanna Stańska 14 April 2026

Bizarre

The Most Bizarre Building in Scotland: Pineapple House

You likely would not connect pineapples and architecture, right? Wrong! There exists a real artistic folly, and not in Las Vegas where such a...

Magda Michalska 14 April 2026