WTF Art History

Art State of Mind

The Allure of Ruins—Architectural Decay in Art

There is a haunting beauty in architectural ruins. War or the passage of time has ravaged the magnificent feats of earlier civilizations. But in...

Maya M. Tola 8 November 2024

Maurizio Cattelan, KAPUTT, 2013, Foundation Beyeler Riehen, Basel, Switzerland. Source: Artsy. Long Read

From Specimen to Contemporary Taxidermy

There are many media through which artists can express their own vision, approach their aesthetic feeling, and capture the reality that vanishes in...

Caroline Galambosova 4 November 2024

Artist Stories

Powerful or Problematic? Robert Mapplethorpe’s Photographs

Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe shocked the world with his images of bondage, gay sex, female bodybuilders and naked black men. Technically brilliant or politically problematic, what do you think?

Candy Bedworth, Guest Profile 4 November 2024

Edvard Munch, Love and pain, 1895, oil on canvas. The Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway. Bizarre

5 Vampire Paintings in Art

Vampires are one of the most known mythical creatures in history. The origins of their legend date back to ancient civilizations. Some ancient...

Errika Gerakiti 31 October 2024

Bizarre

Goya’s 5 Scariest Caprichos for Halloween

Los Caprichos are some of the most disturbing of Francisco Goya’s works. A sharp critique of society and its values, there are plenty of monsters...

Edoardo Cesarino 31 October 2024

Bizarre

Halloween Special: Horror in Art

Horror isn’t an element only in movies or literature. Artists throughout the time have painted many repulsive and ghastly themes. For example, an...

Errika Gerakiti 31 October 2024

Cats

Black Cats in Art for Spooky Season

The enigmatic black cat, shrouded in mystery and often associated with magic and witchcraft, has a prominent role in the realm of art. Let’s...

Andreea Iancu 29 October 2024

Art for Halloween: Roberto Comandante del Caos Diz, Story Twist, 2022. Artist's profile. Bizarre

Scary Monsters and Super Creeps for a Frightening Halloween!

Throughout the history of mankind, art has always been a window to the soul. We have witnessed ethereal beauty, magical nature, bizarre sceneries,...

Errika Gerakiti 29 October 2024

Special

All Souls & Halloween: Death in Art

The feast day of All Souls and the festival of Halloween are celebrated close to each other in the Western calendar, but despite being closely...

Sarah Mills 29 October 2024

WTF Art History

Secrets of Ghost Photography in the 19th Century

Spirit photography, photographs that allegedly show ghosts, have always captured the eye. They are peculiar, bizarre, but above all else horrifying.

Sofia Rodriguez Cuevas 29 October 2024

Dine & Wine

The Scent of Orange in the Air: Paintings with Oranges

What does winter smell like to you? For me, it’s the scent of cinnamon-spiced gingerbread, mulled wine, and of course mandarins. My grandma used to...

Magda Michalska 28 October 2024

Art State of Mind

Madness in Art: A Powerful Connection

Madness and art have long shared a profound and powerful connection, where the boundaries between genius and instability often blur. Many acclaimed...

Maya M. Tola 28 October 2024