Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Rooftops in the Snow by Gustave Caillebotte

You open your eyes to the early morning light filtering through your windows. You instantly feel the cold air of the bedroom as you see your warm...

James W Singer 15 December 2024

Frederic Edwin Church aurora borealis: Frederic Edwin Church, Aurora Borealis, 1865, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Aurora Borealis by Frederic Edwin Church

Aurora Borealis is an American national treasure. It explores the relationship between the land, its viewer, and its destiny. It is a masterpiece of...

James W Singer 15 December 2024

Claude Monet, Magpie, 1868-69, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Magpie by Claude Monet

Magpie is a masterpiece by Claude Monet that captures the poetic play of light upon a winter landscape. It is a symphony of ivory and...

James W Singer 15 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Snowy Landscape (Deep Winter) by Cuno Amiet

These are the shortest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s dark and cold outside, but there are two things that brighten the night...

Kate Wojtczak 15 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent

Known for his striking portraits of high-society figures, John Singer Sargent was one of the most successful painters of his day. But after causing a...

Natalia Iacobelli 13 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Edvard Munch’s Vampire: A Scary Femme Fatale or a Tender Lover?

Like The Scream or Madonna, Vampire is one of Edvard Munch’s most famous artworks. But what if we view it as something more than a folklore...

Guest Profile 12 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait with Her Daughter by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

Self-Portrait with Her Daughter, Julie by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun is a portrait masterpiece blending fashionable elegance and emotional naturalism.

James W Singer 11 December 2024

Herstory

Masterpiece Story: The Portrait of Empress Dowager Cixi by Katharine Augusta Carl

Art and politics have been closely intertwined throughout global history. This article studies the case of The Empress Dowager Cixi of China by...

Iolanda Munck 11 December 2024

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (detail), 1904-07, oil, silver, and gold on canvas, Neue Galerie New York Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I is Gustav Klimt’s most significant work of portraiture. The famous Lady in Gold has as many eye-catching...

Emily Snow 11 December 2024

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 10 December 2024

Ancient Egypt

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut in Egypt

Hatshepsut (c. 1507-1458 B.C.E.) was the fifth pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty and arguably the most important among ancient Egypt’s many female...

Maya M. Tola 10 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Young Woman Peeling Apples by Nicolaes Maes

Today’s Masterpiece Story is about this lovely genre painting by Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693), a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in...

Alexandra Kiely 8 December 2024