Masterpiece Stories

Ten Symbols of Longevity, Joseon Dynasty, ca 1866-1910, ink and color on silk, Ewha Womans University Museum, Seoul, South Korea. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ten Symbols of Longevity

Ten Symbols of Longevity is a landscape masterpiece of Korean art. It is a beautiful world filled with earthly perfection and cosmic energy. The...

James W Singer 15 February 2024

Warrior and Attendants, 16th-17th century, brass, Royal Palace, Benin City, Nigeria, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Warrior and Attendants of Benin

Warrior and Attendants is a masterpiece of Benin art. It encapsulates the beauty of Africa and its people. Black is beautiful. Black is...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

Ramesses II, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, 1279–1254 BCE, granodiorite, Temple of Amun, Karnak Temple Complex, Thebes (Luxor), Egypt, Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ramesses II

The statue of Ramesses II is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian sculpture that proclaims the royal majesty and prowess of Ramesses the...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

Double-Headed Serpent, ca 1400-1521, mosaic on wood, British Museum, London, UK. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Double-Headed Serpent

Double-Headed Serpent is a masterpiece of Aztec art that combines religious and commercial significance. It is filled with hidden allusions under a...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

michelangelo Bacchus: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Bacchus, ca. 1496-1497, Bargello National Museum, Florence, Italy. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Bacchus by Michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, known as Michelangelo, is undoubtedly among the world’s most treasured artists. His connection to...

Maya M. Tola 11 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Princesses Monument by Johann Gottfried Schadow

An unassuming and charming statue group, The Princesses Monument (Prinzessinnen-Denkmal) or Princesses Group (Prinzessinnengruppe) made by Johann...

Nadine Waldmann 11 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Travel to the Heart of the Andes with Frederic Edwin Church

Heart of the Andes is one truly impressive landscape painting. Frederic Edwin Church’s crowning achievement depicts the scenery he saw during his...

Alexandra Kiely 10 February 2024

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 4 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Fons Americanus by Kara Walker

Kara Elizabeth Walker, born in 1969, is an American contemporary artist. She is known as a painter, silhouettist, print-maker, installation artist,...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 4 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

The Story of Girl at Mirror by Norman Rockwell

Do you know the Snow White fairytale? Girl at Mirror by Norman Rockwell would certainly be a contestant to Snow White’s wicked stepmother as she...

Rute Ferreira 3 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell

In today’s Masterpiece Story, we are featuring Freedom from Want, created by American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell. It captures the...

Coleman Richards 3 February 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 29 January 2024