Masterpiece Stories

Lily Furedi, Subway, 1934, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Subway by Lily Furedi

Subway by Lily Furedi is a masterpiece of New Deal art that expresses the excitement of modern transportation. It is populated with commuting workers...

James W Singer 12 April 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Railway Station by William Powell Frith

The Victorian Era was a period of great technological advances that redefined life in Britain. The Railway Station by William Powell Frith is an...

Edoardo Cesarino 12 April 2026

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 12 April 2026

Woman with Stylus, 55-79 CE Ancient Rome

Woman with Stylus: What a Portrait Can Tell Us About Women in Ancient Rome

Woman with Stylus is an ancient Roman fresco unearthed in Pompeii nearly two millennia after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. Various details...

Natalia Iacobelli 9 April 2026

anna ancher Vaccination: Anna Ancher, A Vaccination, 1899. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: A Vaccination by Anna Ancher

Anna Ancher’s painting A Vaccination underlines the importance of vaccines for the community and how children are key elements in public health. It...

Camilla de Laurentis 7 April 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Is This Unicorn a Dog? Uncovering the Mysteries of Raphael’s Masterpiece

Portrait of a Young Woman with Unicorn by Raphael is one of the gems from the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Long misattributed and repainted, this...

Ela Bobek 6 April 2026

Renaissance

Masterpiece Story: Sistine Madonna by Raphael

We’ve seen them on postcards, gift wrap, T-shirts, coffee mugs, and even tattoos. With their serene expressions and relaxed posture, Raphael’s...

Javier Abel Miguel 6 April 2026

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 5 April 2026

Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece, 1432, detail Masterpiece Stories

Ghent Altarpiece: The Charmed Life of the Mystic Lamb

Come with us to visit the Van Eyck brothers, their monumental Ghent Altarpiece, and explore 500 years of intrigue, theft and revolutionary painting techniques.

Candy Bedworth 5 April 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Descent from the Cross by Rogier van der Weyden

The Descent from the Cross by Rogier van der Weyden is a masterpiece of Northern Renaissance art that captures a crucial moment in the Passion of...

James W Singer 5 April 2026

Sculpture

Masterpiece Story: Penitent Mary Magdalene by Donatello

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello, was a sculptor born around 1386 in Florence, which is also the city in which he died in...

Soledad Castillo Jara 5 April 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Rainy Season in the Tropics by Frederic Edwin Church

In our Masterpiece Stories series we have something truly beautiful for you. I want to discuss Rainy Season in the Tropics by Frederic Edwin Church,...

Zuzanna Stańska 3 April 2026