Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Madeleine by Marie-Guillemine Benoist
What is the message behind Marie-Guillemine Benoist’s Portrait of Madeleine? The history and tradition behind this 1800 painting might explain...
Jimena Escoto 16 March 2025
Masterpiece Stories
Masterpiece Story: The Game of Chess by Sofonisba Anguissola
Sofonisba Anguissola is known for her self-portraits and portraits of Spanish royalty. But her most provocative painting is perhaps The Game of...
Anna Ingram 16 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: Elisabeth of Valois by Sofonisba Anguissola
The portrait of Elisabeth of Valois by Sofonisba Anguissola depicts a beautiful young Queen of Spain. However, while the imagery is intriguing, the...
Anna Ingram 16 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: Cleopatra by Alexandre Cabanel
Queen Cleopatra is a popular subject today – as she was in the late 19th century. Alexandre Cabanel’s Cleopatra explores a single moment of her...
James W Singer 11 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: Still Life with Mackerel by Anne Vallayer-Coster
Anne Vallayer-Coster was one of the foremost still-life painters in 18th-century France. She was enormously prolific and extremely popular. Her works...
James W Singer 9 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: A Gentleman’s Table by Claude Raguet Hirst
A Gentleman’s Table by Claude Raguet Hirst is a mysterious painting that echoes the realism of Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, and Henry Ossawa...
James W Singer 9 March 2025
Mary Cassatt’s Feminist Mural Which Has Gone Missing
Mary Cassatt was a well-known Impressionist who often illustrated motherhood and traditional female activities in the 19th century. When she was 50,...
Magda Michalska 4 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait with Madrigal by Marietta Robusti
The Venetian Renaissance painter Marietta Robusti has recently caused a stir in the art history world. Although only a few works are attributed to...
Anna Ingram 2 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Artemisia Gentileschi
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–c. 1656) was “one of the best Italian Baroque painters.” Despite this, you won’t find any of her works in...
Chris Dobson 2 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: Capturing the Moment by Joaquín Sorolla
The Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla spent most of his summers with his family in French Biarritz, 35 kilometers from the border with Spain. The beach...
Zuzanna Stańska 27 February 2025
Masterpiece Story: Vision of Spain by Joaquín Sorolla
Joaquín Sorolla’s monumental series, Vision of Spain, stands as one of the most ambitious and celebrated works of his career. Commissioned by the...
Nikolina Konjevod 26 February 2025
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 25 February 2025
