Masterpiece Stories

Cornelis Saftleven, Who Sues for a Cow?, 1629, oil on wood panel, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Who Sues for a Cow by Cornelis Saftleven

Who Sues for a Cow is a masterpiece of social commentary by now-forgotten artist, Cornelis Saftleven. It is a strange painting from the Dutch Golden...

James W Singer 16 January 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Tughra of Sultan Süleiman the Magnificent

During the 16th and 17th centuries, The Ottoman Empire reached the height of its powers and extended into several continents, crossing nations and...

James W Singer 7 August 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: 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

Masterpiece Story: Season’s Greetings by Banksy

What if a children’s game turned into a frightening nightmare? And what would you think if the cause was… you? In Port Talbot, UK, Banksy...

Camilla de Laurentis 20 May 2022

Art Nouveau

Painting Human Desire for Happiness – Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze

When we think of Gustav Klimt we imagine beautiful portraits of women, sensual and dangerous compositions, gold and decorative motifs. However, if...

Zuzanna Stańska 10 March 2022

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Divan Japonais

Divan Japonais is a lithograph poster by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec which was an ad for a café-chantant of this exact name. The poster is like a...

Zuzanna Stańska 24 November 2021

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Kensingtons at Laventie by Eric Kennington

The painting The Kensingtons at Laventie, which we present today, is Eric Kennington’s most famous work. It has been described as “one of the...

Zuzanna Stańska 11 November 2021

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Flora by Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt painted his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh as Flora, goddess of spring and flowers, three times during their relatively short but meaningful...

Zuzanna Stańska 21 February 2021

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Princess Olga Orlova by Valentin Serov

Late Tsarist Russia evokes images of great social inequality in respect of health, wealth, and happiness. In addition, it evokes images of extreme...

James W Singer 17 January 2021

Artist Stories

The Story of Vincent van Gogh’s Bedroom and Its Three Versions

The Bedroom(s) are among the most famous paintings of Vincent van Gogh. Why the plural? There are three similar paintings of the same title. All...

Zuzanna Stańska 9 January 2021

Masterpiece Stories

Painting of the Week: Fragment of a Floor Mosaic with a Personification of Ktisis

The bejeweled woman from the mosaic, holding the measuring tool for the Roman foot, is identified by the restored Greek inscription as Ktisis. She is...

Zuzanna Stańska 18 October 2020