WTF Art History

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

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

Paintings of Satan. Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Ghosts, Devils, and The King of Hell, 1850. Woodblock print. The British Museum, London, UK. Bizarre

5 Paintings of Satan You Haven’t Seen Before

Paintings of Satan are a recurrent theme in art, ranging from religious portrayals to contemporary interpretations. As the symbolic representation of...

Errika Gerakiti 9 March 2024

Masterpiece Stories

George Rodrigue and His Blue Dogs

Hailing from New Iberia, Louisiana, George Rodrigue gained international acclaim for painting blue dogs—his favorite subject, as well as something...

Zuzanna Stańska 4 March 2024

Bizarre

Vile Bodies? Anatomy in Art

Are you ready to journey into the fascinating world of anatomical art? Read on, as we reveal flesh and blood art through the...

Candy Bedworth 4 March 2024

Alexandre Cabanel, Cleopatra, 1887, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Cleopatra by Alexandre Cabanel

Queen Cleopatra is a popular subject today – as she was in the late 19th century. Alexandre Cabanel’s Cleopatra explores a single moment of her...

James W Singer 3 March 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Death of Barbara Radziwiłł by Józef Simmler

The National Museum in Warsaw is one of the largest museums in Poland and boasts an extensive art collection. Among its body of works is The Death of...

James W Singer 3 March 2024