Animals

Animals

The Medieval Bestiary—Cute, Quirky, and Weird Animals

Of all the medieval manuscripts, bestiaries are definitely the most fun. A medieval bestiary is a book about animals. It’s full of unusual...

Alexandra Kiely 16 January 2025

Medieval Art

Here Be Medieval Dragons

Dragons are everywhere in popular culture. People make movies about them, collect stuffed animals of them, and dress up as them for Halloween. They...

Alexandra Kiely 16 January 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Breakfast of Birds by Gabriele Münter

Gabriele Münter (1877–1962) was a German Expressionist painter born in Berlin and most known for her landscapes and use of color. She developed a...

Heidi Werber 5 January 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Threatened Swan by Jan Asselijn

Swans are normally characterized as graceful birds. They are magnificent and majestic. However, Jan Asselijn displays another side of these elegant...

James W Singer 5 January 2025

Animals

Franz Marc: The Painter Who Loved Horses

The German Expressionist movement had many faces. One of the most interesting ones was that of the painter Franz Marc. Marc looked to the natural...

Zuzanna Stańska 3 January 2025

North American Art

Inflating Art: Special Balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade holds as much tradition in America as football, turkey and stuffing itself. Over the past 9 decades, it has only...

Rachel Witte 28 November 2024

Animals

The Magical Menagerie of Norbertine Bresslern-Roth

Always moving, impenetrable, and ephemeral, animals are among the most difficult subjects for an artist to depict. Using a new style of printmaking...

Louisa Mahoney 4 October 2024

Medieval Art

The Unicorn Tapestries – Allegory of Christ, or a Happy Husband?

The Unicorn Tapestries are a set of medieval tapestries depicting a hunt for a unicorn, a popular motif at the time. They’re probably the most...

Alexandra Kiely 4 October 2024

Animals

Dachshunds in Art

Dachshunds were first bred around the 15th century in Germany. Their primary purpose was to hunt small animals, particularly badgers, and they are...

Maya M. Tola 4 October 2024

Anguish August Friedrich Schenck Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Anguish by August Friedrich Schenck

Surrounded by menacing crows, a mother sheep wails in anguish as her lifeless young lamb rests on a snowy bed. This scene, painted by August...

Montaine Dumont 18 September 2024

Animals

Rosa Bonheur’s Magnificent Lions and the Portrait of Wildlife

Painting animals is part of a tradition in European art dating back to the 17th century when animal-specialized painters began contributing to...

Rute Ferreira 4 September 2024

Sir Edwin Landseer, Monarch of the Glen, ca 1851, Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, UK. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Monarch of the Glen by Edwin Landseer

Monarch of the Glen by Edwin Landseer is one of the most famous British paintings of the 19th century. It is a Victorian melodrama at its most...

James W Singer 4 September 2024