Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Queen Mother Idia of Benin

Africa is a beautiful continent filled with sweeping landscapes and mighty rivers. Its history is filled with great kingdoms and large empires. Its...

James W Singer 14 May 2023

Titian's The Rape of Europa Renaissance

Titian’s The Rape of Europa (Metamorphoses V)

In a series of articles, we are meeting each of the seven Poesies, which Titian delivered to Philip II of Spain in the 1550s and early 1560s. Each...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 9 May 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Street, Dresden by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

The swirling crowds and electric lights of the modern city. This is the subject of today’s Masterpiece Story, created by one of the greatest...

Zuzanna Stańska 6 May 2023

Contemporary Art

Masterpiece Story: My Bed by Tracey Emin

My Bed is an iconic and seminal artwork by British artist Tracey Emin. It was created over 20 years ago and despite its age, it is still one of...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 30 April 2023

Aaron Douglas, Judgment Day, 1939, oil on tempered hardboard, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Judgement Day by Aaron Douglas

Judgment Day by Aaron Douglas is a masterpiece of Black history. It encapsulates the dynamic culture of the Harlem Renaissance through its striking...

James W Singer 28 April 2023

El Lissitzky, Klinom krasnym bei belykh (Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge), 1919, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Beat The Whites With The Red Wedge by El Lissitzky

Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge (Клином красным бей белых!) is a 1919 lithographic Soviet propaganda poster by artist Lazar...

Zuzanna Stańska 24 April 2023

manet bar at the folies bergere Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Édouard Manet

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère is considered Édouard Manet’s last major painting. Presented in the Paris Salon of 1882, just a year before the...

Anastasia Manioudaki 21 April 2023

Édouard Manet boating: Édouard Manet, Boating, 1874. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Boating by Édouard Manet

Known as the father of modernism in art, Édouard Manet was a key figure in the shift from Realism to Impressionism. Finding the guidelines of the...

Natalia Iacobelli 21 April 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Hieronymus Bosch and His Fascinating World: The Garden of Earthly Delights

Hieronymus Bosch’s triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights remains a mystery to this day. The most respected experts in late gothic iconography...

Marta Loza 20 April 2023

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 16 April 2023

Frants Henningsen, Funeral, 1883, National Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Funeral by Frants Henningsen

Funeral by Frants Henningsen is a Danish masterpiece of emotions. It examines the different psychological reactions to love, loss, and...

James W Singer 12 April 2023

anna ancher Vaccination: Anna Ancher, A Vaccination, 1899. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: A Vaccination by Anna Ancher

Anna Ancher’s painting A Vaccination underlines the importance of vaccines for the community and how children are key elements in public health. It...

Camilla de Laurentis 7 April 2023