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 15 April 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) was the most prolific French painter of the 18th century. He created over 550 paintings embodying the spirit of...

James W Singer 14 April 2024

Arthur Hughes April Love, 1855-1856, Tate Britain, London, UK. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: April Love by Arthur Hughes

Today’s Masterpiece Story is about April Love – Arthur Hughes’ most celebrated artwork that perfectly embodies the Pre-Raphaelite...

Arianna Richetti 14 April 2024

WTF Art History

Forbidden Art – 10 Scandalous Cases of Censorship in Art

Art history is painted with shades of prohibition—works banned, artists silenced, and masterpieces under attack. From centuries past to the cutting...

Celia Leiva Otto 12 April 2024

Review

Rebel, Rebel: Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore

If I asked for your top 10 political artists, does Claude Cahun spring to mind? Marcel Moore? No, I guessed as much. But these two art activists had...

Candy Bedworth 12 April 2024

Asian Art

Yūrei-zu: Japanese Horror in Art

Some Asian cultures are notorious for their rich horror culture, showcasing exceptional horror movies and artistic expressions that continually...

Errika Gerakiti 11 April 2024

James Ensor, Masks Confronting Death, 1888, Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States of America Expressionism

James Ensor: What the Mask Hides

Do you know who James Ensor was? James Ensor (1860-1949) was a scandalous, rebellious, and revolutionary Belgian painter with a style that could be...

Andra Patricia Ritisan 11 April 2024

Bizarre

James Ensor’s Fighting Skeletons

Do you know the late Victorian and avant-garde painter James Ensor? Often likened to Edvard Munch is his ability to convey the miseries of human...

Sarah Mills 11 April 2024

Sport

Art History Reveals: Women in Sport

In the annals of history, sport has predominantly been perceived as a male endeavor, a bias that art’s historical narrative often mirrors. Yet,...

Nina Relf 9 April 2024

Ancient Greece

Timeless Beauty: Ancient Greek Athletes in Art

The idea of timeless beauty is fascinating. Also, it’s a great concern for lovers of art history. Conceptions of beauty in Western art history...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 9 April 2024

Sport

Football in Art and Art in Football

The spheres of art history and football may not seem inherently connected. Yet, football holds a cherished place within culture, serving as both a...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 9 April 2024

Sport

Swing, Succeed, Repeat – Golf in Paintings

Did you know golf was born in Scotland? Well, not exactly, but Scotland, especially the town of St. Andrews, is known worldwide as the “home of...

Magda Michalska 9 April 2024