Masterpiece Stories

Baroque

The Veiled Christ: Art or Alchemy?

In the nave of the Sansevero Chapel in Naples there is a unique sculpture depicting Jesus after the crucifixion. His body is covered with a thin...

Rachel Istvan 3 August 2022

Architecture

Aubette: Neoplasticist Gesamtkunstwerk in Strasbourg

Have you ever visited Strasbourg in Alsace, France? It’s a charming city full of picturesque narrow and tiny houses scattered along the canals.

Magda Michalska 2 August 2022

Sculpture

Masterpiece Story: Molecule Man by Jonathan Borofsky

Jonathan Borofsky’s monumental aluminum sculpture, Molecule Man, towers over the Berlin skyline at 30 meters (100 feet). Standing in a region...

Nadine Waldmann 26 July 2022

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Conscript’s Farewell, 1854, Leopold Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Conscript’s Farewell by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller

Conscript’s Farewell is a masterpiece by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. It explores a family’s reaction to the conscription of their beloved...

James W Singer 18 July 2022

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Tamara de Lempicka’s Autoportrait (Tamara in a Green Bugatti)

Heralded as one of the greatest Polish artists of all time, Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980) painted the aristocracy in France and the United States in...

Isabella Hill 11 July 2022

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Death and Life by Gustav Klimt

Death has been a fascinating theme for artists since the beginning of time. It was imagined as a personified force, also known as the Grim Reaper, a...

Zuzanna Stańska 11 July 2022

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault

Théodore Géricault completed The Raft of the Medusa when he was 27, and the work has become an icon of French Romanticism. It is a direct precursor...

Clinton Pittman 27 June 2022

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: A Bigger Splash by David Hockney

David Hockney is one of Britain’s most well-known and influential artists. His iconic style is instantly recognizable. As you hunch over your...

Candy Bedworth 26 June 2022

Louise Bourgeois, Maman, 1999, steel, bronze, marble. Stavros Niarchos Cultural Foundation, Athens, Greece. Author's photo. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Maman by Louise Bourgeois

Maman is one of the most iconic sculptures ever created. Its dimensions are monumental, and it can only be installed either outdoors or in an...

Errika Gerakiti 23 June 2022

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Fish Magic by Paul Klee

Fish Magic is a mysterious and very fascinating work by Swiss-born German artist Paul Klee, a painter who balanced on the verge of a few modern art...

Kate Wojtczak 19 June 2022

Masterpiece Stories

Isenheim Altarpiece – Polyptych About Pain and Passion

Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald is a polyptych about pain and passion. It’s a complex piece consisting of several parts and...

Magda Michalska 16 June 2022

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Trouville, Jetties, High Tide by Eugène Boudin

Eugène Boudin could be considered one of the fathers of Impressionism. It was he who met and influenced a young Claude Monet in 1858 with his...

James W Singer 8 June 2022