Animals

Contemporary Art

Damien Hirst’s Butterflies: From Tea-trays to Mandalas

Damien Hirst – a prominent Young British Artist (YBA) and now a billionaire – creates sculptures, paintings, and drawings. In all of...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 30 April 2023

Animals

See a Man About a Dog: Dogs in Paintings

The title sentence is a charming English euphemism, usually used to apologize for one’s imminent departure or absence—generally to conceal...

Joanna Kaszubowska 23 March 2023

Animals

The World of Animals Created by Hans Hoffmann

Hans Hoffmann was a 16th-century German painter and draftsman. He was an artist in the court of Rudolph II (the one who loved arts and was probably...

Zuzanna Stańska 19 January 2023

Cornelis Saftleven, Who Sues for a Cow?, 1629, oil on wood panel, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Who Sues for a Cow by Cornelis Saftleven

Who Sues for a Cow is a masterpiece of social commentary by now-forgotten artist, Cornelis Saftleven. It is a strange painting from the Dutch Golden...

James W Singer 16 January 2023

Contemporary Art

Maurizio Cattelan and His Obsession with Pigeons

It was at the Venice Biennale in 1997 when Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan displayed 2000 stuffed pigeons installed at the top of the air...

Zuzanna Stańska 16 July 2022

Animals

What Bunnies Are Capable Of – Bunny Paintings Not Only for Easter

I had already written about eggs and how often they feature in art (quirky…). This Easter it is time for another symbol: the Easter Bunny! The cute...

Magda Michalska 17 April 2022

Architecture

The Symbol of Sagittarius on the Tile Spandrels of Qaysariya Gate of Isfahan

The Qaysariya bazaar is located in the north of Naqsh-Jahan square of Isfahan. It was founded by Shah Abbas in the Safavid period. On the tile...

Guest Profile 14 March 2022

Animals

Henry Moore’s Sheep

Henry Spencer Moore was an English artist. Although his primary role was as a sculptor, there are lots of examples of his sketches. His forms are...

Candy Bedworth 11 March 2022

Animals

Famous Lobsters in Art

Lobsters, large marine crustaceans, have been eaten by humans since prehistoric times. They became a delicacy by the Roman period. They were also...

Zuzanna Stańska 7 April 2021

Bizarre

A Hero and Mythical Creatures: Famous Spiders in Art

Spiders disturb the majority of the people. Even though they are much smaller, and thus much less powerful than us, we cannot help but fear their...

Belkıs Pesen 6 April 2021

Celebrating Chinese New Year: Which Ox Would You Choose?

Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival celebrates the beginning of a new year based on the lunisolar calendar. In 2021, the first day of the Chinese...

Marina Kochetkova 12 February 2021

Cats

Tsuguharu Foujita: The Cat Master

While there are many artists who can be called cat-lovers, only one can be called the master of cats. Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita was a...

Zuzanna Stańska 3 August 2020