WTF Art History

Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1802, Château de Versailles, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps is one of the most famous and politically iconic images of European art history. However, it is a...

James W Singer 4 December 2023

Medieval Art

How Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Was Inspired by the Late Medieval Tapestry

In Charles Perrault’s 17th-century literary world, knights, dragons, and spellbound princesses persisted centuries after the topic diminished. As...

Anna Ingram 2 December 2023

Animals

Five Fun Facts About Gargoyles – Quirky Creatures of the Middle Ages and Beyond

Everybody loves gargoyles! I used to think I was alone in this, but I’ve come to learn that’s not at all true. In case any of you don’t know, a...

Alexandra Kiely 1 December 2023

Painting

Paintings for Autumn Lovers: Rainy Scenes in Art

Are you tired of summer vibes and high temperatures? Is autumn one of your favorite seasons? If for any of these questions, your answer is...

Magda Michalska 29 November 2023

A city street on a rainy day. Art State of Mind

Rain in Art – Paintings for Pluviophiles

The causal relationship between weather and human emotion is evident on unbearably hot summer days that result in feelings of despair and melancholy.

Maya M. Tola 29 November 2023

Contemporary Art

Human Machines, Pigs & Gothic Trucks: Wim Delvoye’s Surprising Art

Have you ever seen a pig covered in an oriental carpet, a cement truck with Gothic motifs, or a silver DNA string with crucifixes? These are the...

Michel Rutten 27 November 2023

Pablo Picasso's Young Ladies of Avignon. The painting depicts five naked women on a flat surface. Painting

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon

The year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. Picasso Celebration 1973-2023, a large-scale transnational...

Ela Bobek 25 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Perseus Rescuing Andromeda by Cavaliere d’Arpino

The roar of the sea monster blends with the screams of the scared princess! The chained beauty awaits her bloody death as the ugly beast lurches...

James W Singer 19 November 2023

Love Story

Dalí and Gala – The Love Story

Today, we present the story of Salvador Dalí and Gala – his wife, without whom Dalí would have never become an icon of modern art. Carl van...

Zuzanna Stańska 16 November 2023

appropriation art: Jeff Koons, String of Puppies, 1988, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, USA. Contemporary Art

Appropriation Art: Did You Steal My Work?

What do Duchamp, Warhol, and Koons have in common? That’s right, they were all appropriation artists! Appropriation art is an art form that grew in...

Ruxi Rusu 13 November 2023

Artifacts. Fascinating Facts about Art, Artists, and the Art World. Phaidon Review

Book Review: ARTIFACTS – Fascinating Facts About Art, Artists, and the Art World

Technically, artworks should stand on their own but let’s be honest; we’re all just humans. A good anecdote or a quirky detail about the...

Joanna Kaszubowska 4 November 2023

Bizarre

Party with Skulls and Skeletons: Day of the Dead in Mexico

Heaven and earth are never as close as they are on that day. November 1 and 2 are traditionally celebrated as the Day of the Dead when spirits come...

Magda Michalska 30 October 2023