Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Railway Station by Alf Rolfsen

Steam, breath, and sweat combine into a pulsating cloud filling the railway station with energy and anticipation. Everyone is in motion either...

James W Singer 20 August 2023

David Hockney, 'Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)', 1972, private collection. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) by David Hockney

David Hockney is an English artist born in 1937. He was a leading force in the 1960s Pop Art movement and a great innovator, considered, to this...

Ruxi Rusu 17 August 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Madonna and Child with Two Angels by Fra Filippo Lippi

On the surface, Fra Filippo Lippi’s Madonna and Child with Two Angels appears to be another typical Renaissance painting of the Virgin Mary and the...

James W Singer 15 August 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Madonna of Port Lligat by Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí’s The Madonna of Port Lligat is an image of Mary holding baby Jesus in her lap. Seems simple, but it has layers upon layers of...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 15 August 2023

Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair, 1852-1855, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Animals

Masterpiece Story: The Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur

Today’s Masterpiece Story is that of The Horse Fair by French Realist painter Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899). The Horse Fair was the undisputed star of...

Alexandra Kiely 11 August 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Two Sisters (On the Terrace) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

This beautiful painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is known under two titles. The first one – Two Sisters (in French: Les Deux Sœurs) was given to...

Zuzanna Stańska 1 August 2023

JMW Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed, 1844, National Gallery, London, UK. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Rain, Steam and Speed by JMW Turner

JMW Turner‘s Rain, Steam, and Speed is a masterpiece of Victorian Romanticism infused with hopes, fears, and reminisces. It catapults the...

James W Singer 31 July 2023

Piet Mondrian's Composition: Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow, 1930, Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow by Piet Mondrian

Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow is a golden example of Abstraction, De Stijl, and Constructivism. It purges the art of individual subjects by...

James W Singer 30 July 2023

Johannes Vermeer, Art of Painting, ca 1666-68, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Art of Painting by Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer is an enigmatic figure in the history of art. He is considered one of the most famous artists of the Dutch Golden Age. Why are his...

James W Singer 23 July 2023

Johannes Vermeer, Girl With a Pearl Earring, c. 1665, Mauritshuis, Hague, The Netherlands. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

The Girl with a Pearl Earring is usually the first image that comes to mind when we think of Johannes Vermeer. It has inspired multiple references in...

Soledad Castillo Jara 23 July 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Sea Watchers by Edward Hopper

The time has come for young children to trade in play clothes for school clothes, tugging parents along in the quest for a routine. Meanwhile, all...

Abreeza Thomas 22 July 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt painted this group portrait of seven surgeons and the physician Nicolaes Tulp in 1632. He was only 26 years old at that point. Nicolaes...

Zuzanna Stańska 15 July 2023