WTF Art History

WTF Art History

Five Translation Mistakes That Changed Art History

Why did Michelangelo portray Moses with horns? Why are there monkeys in Giulio Romano’s Chamber of Giants? And why does the Nativity scene...

Arianna Richetti 18 March 2024

WTF Art History

The Dark Age of Rome – The Cadaver Synod

In a career that spanned over two decades, Jean-Paul Laurens painted some of French art’s most plaintive historical moments: two young princes...

Guest Profile 15 March 2024

Art State of Mind

Florence Welch — A Modern Pre-Raphaelite Muse

We all know Florence Welch, the leader of the indie-rock band Florence + The Machine. And if you don’t, I suggest you find her cosmic music right...

Elizaveta Ermakova 15 March 2024

Art State of Mind

Celestial Bodies in Art – Comets, Planets and Stars

When we think about flying objects we usually imagine birds, planes, kites, balloons, or even UFOs! It’s easy to forget that at one point the...

Sarah Mills 14 March 2024

Dine & Wine

Come Dine with Art History: Famous Feasts in Art

Socrates said that “We eat to live, not live to eat” (although his wife must have thought differently since according to legend she was terribly...

Magda Michalska 13 March 2024

Quiz

Bon Appetit! Foodie Quiz for Art Lovers

Candy Bedworth 13 March 2024

Dine & Wine

Cooking in Pictures—The Food in Art and the Art of Food

Long before Julia Child published Mastering the Art of French Cooking, artists had already made the connection between food and art. But how to...

Ledys Chemin 13 March 2024

Dine & Wine

Cook Like an Artist! Kitchen Inspiration from Art History

For hundreds of years, kitchens in art were the undesirable work place of unsavory maids, tucked away below the luxurious living spaces of the upper...

Abreeza Thomas 13 March 2024

Dine & Wine

Baroque Foodies – Social Media of the Dutch Golden Age

Carefully arranged plates of food surrounded by carefully planned out backgrounds, images with hidden meanings, a snapshot of wealth… What may...

Rachel Witte 13 March 2024

Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog (Magenta), 1994-2000, Château de Versailles, Versailles, France. Photo by Marc Wathieu via Versailles' website. Contemporary Art

Jeff Koons and His Balloon Dogs

What do Jeff Koons, Jay Z, Christie’s, and clowns have in common? Balloon dogs. Koons is a controversial figure in the contemporary art world,...

Zuzanna Stańska 12 March 2024

Masterpiece Stories

The Boxer at Rest – Defeated Hellenistic Athlete

Coming face-to-face with a piece of art you’ve loved for years is a thrilling, exciting and oftentimes overwhelming experience. Such was the case...

Nadine Waldmann 11 March 2024

Bizarre

Dante and Virgil in Bouguereau’s Hell

Established by the Academy, the hierarchy of genres and subjects was essential for almost every graduate of École des Beaux-Arts. Throughout the...

Christopher Michaut 9 March 2024