WTF Art History

Art History 101

A Small Guide to Still Life Symbols

You may think that all those marvelous Dutch still lifes from the 16th and 17th centuries were just some random sets of fruits, vegetables, and...

Zuzanna Stańska, Nicole Ganbold 9 January 2022

Artist Stories

Max Ernst and Birds: A Relationship Explained through Paintings

Max Ernst (1891–1976) was a prolific German avant-garde artist. He was a pioneer in the early 20th century movements of Dada and Surrealism and...

Anastasia Tsaleza 5 January 2022

Atala. Luis Monroy Josué, Last Moments of Atala, 1871,Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City, Mexico. Literature

Atala: The Tragedy that Transcended Pages

In the 19th century, Europeans went crazy for one story: Atala, or the Story of Two Lovers in the Desert. It is a novel by René de Chateaubriand...

Jimena Escoto 3 January 2022

New year’s traditions, New Year’s Eve at Grandfather’s House Art State of Mind

Ring Out the Old, Ring In the New—New Year Traditions Around the World

New Year’s is the last holiday of the old year, the first holiday of the new year and, as such, humans have been marking it for longer than we...

Ledys Chemin 1 January 2022

Art State of Mind

Best Party Posters of the 19th Century

Are you ready for a crazy party tonight? Although lithography was invented in 1798, at first it was too slow and expensive for poster production.

Zuzanna Stańska 31 December 2021

Art State of Mind

The 12 Days of Christmas

In the spirit of the festive season, our gift to you is the 12 days of Christmas retold in artworks. The Twelve Days of Christmas is a carol with...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 22 December 2021

Dadaism

4 Readymades by Marcel Duchamp You Should Know

Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp was a French, naturalized American painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism,...

Zuzanna Stańska 15 December 2021

Contemporary Art

10 Most Expensive Artworks by Living Artists

We present an equation: one contemporary artist, one masterpiece, one auction, and a million-dollar offer. Here are the ten most expensive artworks...

Caroline Galambosova 30 November 2021

Animals

Hieronymus Bosch’s Creepy Owls

Hieronymus Bosch was an Early Netherlandish painter. He must have lived in two worlds simultaneously – the real one and a world of his...

Zuzanna Stańska 29 November 2021

Art State of Mind

Which Painting Are You Based on Your Zodiac Sign?

What is your zodiac sign? Western astrology is closely related to ancient Greek and Roman mythology and culture. Over time, each astrological star...

Ruxi Rusu 22 November 2021

Erotica

Eccentric Erotica: Pichard & Lob’s Odyssey

One simply cannot praise Homer’s peerless oeuvre enough. We all read Iliad and Odyssey several times, and surely, a considerable amount of us has...

Erol Degirmenci 4 November 2021

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 1 November 2021