Masterpiece Stories

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge, The Dance, 1890, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: At the Moulin Rouge, The Dance by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Tonight the Moulin Rouge is bursting at the seams. Men in dark coats and distinguished women dance and converse on the buzzing floor. Each has a...

Ruxi Rusu 13 October 2024

Jean Antoine Watteau, Feast of Love, ca 1718-19, oil on canvas, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Feast of Love by Jean-Antoine Watteau

Feast of Love is a beautiful painting by Jean-Antoine Watteau that explores the themes of love and impermanence. It holds a polished mixture of urban...

James W Singer 13 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: L.H.O.O.Q. by Marcel Duchamp

This masterpiece, L.H.O.O.Q. (La Joconde), is all about codes, reversals, play with conventions, and provocation. In other words, it’s an epitome...

Magda Michalska 13 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

Why is art history predominantly focused on male artists? Are there not enough female artists to fill textbooks? Of course, there are enough, but the...

James W Singer 13 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Leonidas at Thermopylae by Jacques-Louis David

Whether you are within an academic environment or at a coffee shop, when the term “Neoclassicism” and its huge influence on the visual arts...

Erol Degirmenci 13 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées and One of Her Sisters

To a 21st-century viewer, the portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées might seem homo-erotic. However, pictured with her sister, the Duchess of Villars,...

Anna Ingram 8 October 2024

Caravaggio Amor, Amor Vincit Omnia, ca. 1601 Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Amor Vincit Omnia by Caravaggio

Virgil’s famous saying amor vincit omnia means “love conquers all.” Famous Baroque painter, Caravaggio, clearly inspired by the famous sentence...

Zuzanna Stańska 8 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Flower Still Life by Jan van Huysum

Flower Still Life by Jan van Huysum is a still-life masterpiece that explores beautiful flowers and delicate butterflies. The painting is part of the...

James W Singer 6 October 2024

Li Di, Red and White Cotton Roses, Southern Song dynasty, 1197, color on silk, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Red and White Cotton Roses by Li Di

Red and White Cotton Roses is considered Li Di’s lifetime masterpiece and a masterwork of Chinese...

James W Singer 6 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Still Life with Mackerel by Anne Vallayer-Coster

Anne Vallayer-Coster was one of the foremost still-life painters in 18th-century France. She was enormously prolific and extremely popular. Her works...

James W Singer 6 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Still Life by Henri Fantin-Latour

The greatest happiness can be found in the simple pleasures of daily life. Such simplicities could include the taste of fresh fruit, the smell of...

James W Singer 6 October 2024

caravaggio medusa Masterpiece Stories

Shiny Shield with Caravaggio’s Medusa

Caravaggio’s art epitomizes the essence of Baroque art. The artist, known for close physical observation with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro,...

Zuzanna Stańska 30 September 2024