Bizarre

Art State of Mind

From Toys to Means of Transport: Balloons in Art

When we think of flying objects in art we might not put balloons at the top of our list, and yet they appear everywhere. As the words from Jethro...

Sarah Mills 15 April 2024

WTF Art History

Forbidden Art – 10 Scandalous Cases of Censorship in Art

Art history is painted with shades of prohibition—works banned, artists silenced, and masterpieces under attack. From centuries past to the cutting...

Celia Leiva Otto 12 April 2024

Asian Art

Yūrei-zu: Japanese Horror in Art

Some Asian cultures are notorious for their rich horror culture, showcasing exceptional horror movies and artistic expressions that continually...

Errika Gerakiti 11 April 2024

James Ensor, Masks Confronting Death, 1888, Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States of America Expressionism

James Ensor: What the Mask Hides

Do you know who James Ensor was? James Ensor (1860-1949) was a scandalous, rebellious, and revolutionary Belgian painter with a style that could be...

Andra Patricia Ritisan 11 April 2024

Bizarre

James Ensor’s Fighting Skeletons

Do you know the late Victorian and avant-garde painter James Ensor? Often likened to Edvard Munch is his ability to convey the miseries of human...

Sarah Mills 11 April 2024

Ted Cate Jr., Swamp Picnic, 2014, Museum of Bad Art, Somerville, MA, USA. Bizarre

What I Found in the Museum of Bad Art

MOBA, or the Museum of Bad Art, is replete with almost anything that could be wished for in terms of the good, the bad, the very bad, the hilarious,...

Sarah Mills 1 April 2024

Bizarre

Chilling Beauty: Exploring Europe’s Bone Churches

From the ancient period through the 18th century, European Catholics and Orthodox Christians displayed and maintained bones of the deceased to honor...

Julia Bourbois 28 March 2024

WTF Art History

The Dark Age of Rome – The Cadaver Synod

In a career that spanned over two decades, Jean-Paul Laurens painted some of French art’s most plaintive historical moments: two young princes...

Guest Profile 15 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