Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Breakfast of Birds by Gabriele Münter

Gabriele Münter (1877–1962) was a German Expressionist painter born in Berlin and most known for her landscapes and use of color. She developed a...

Heidi Werber 5 January 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump by Joseph Wright of Derby

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump is not only a masterpiece from the Age of Enlightenment but also a monumental artistic achievement of Joseph...

Maya M. Tola 5 January 2024

William Blake The Ancient of Days, from Europe A Prophecy, 1794, watercolor etching, The British Museum, London, UK. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Ancient of Days by William Blake

The Ancient of Days, designed, printed, and hand colored by William Blake, was the frontispiece of his 1794 poem Europe a Prophecy. An epic...

Catriona Miller 3 January 2024

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, 1876, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette is a masterpiece of French Impressionism and a celebration of happiness and...

James W Singer 1 January 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: I was a Rich Man’s Plaything by Eduardo Paolozzi

Eduardo Paolozzi’s 1947 collage I was a Rich Man’s Plaything, which can be seen in the Tate Modern in London, was one of the first works of Pop...

Chris Dobson 29 December 2023

Frederic Edwin Church aurora borealis: Frederic Edwin Church, Aurora Borealis, 1865, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Aurora Borealis by Frederic Edwin Church

Aurora Borealis is an American national treasure. It explores the relationship between the land, its viewer, and its destiny. It is a masterpiece of...

James W Singer 27 December 2023

Medieval Art

Angel with Attitude: Grumpy Angel from the Hyde Collection

Angel is a painting by Niccolò di Ser Sozzo, c. 1350, owned by The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY. This is an unusual depiction of an angel with...

Alexandra Kiely 26 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels by Jean Fouquet

Gazing at this 15th-century masterpiece, you might mistake it for a contemporary creation. Vivid bursts of deep blue and red cherubs compose the...

Rachel Witte 26 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ognissanti Madonna by Giotto

Giotto di Bondone is known as the artist who, in the 13th century, began to paint in a way that led art history to the Renaissance. This Florentine...

Zuzanna Stańska 24 December 2023

Adam Elsheimer, Flight into Egypt, 1609, oil on copper, Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Flight into Egypt by Adam Elsheimer

Flight into Egypt is a masterpiece found in the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, Germany. Human dramas are depicted with vivid...

James W Singer 24 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Rokeby Venus by Diego Velázquez

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599–1660) was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV and one of the most important painters of...

Joanna Kaszubowska 23 December 2023

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Peasant Wedding, 1567 Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Peasant Wedding by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (the Museum of Art History) is located in Vienna, Austria. It is the largest art gallery in the country, housing the...

Anastasia Manioudaki 22 December 2023