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Artist Stories

Vive la Belle Époque! The Story of Giovanni Boldini and Franca Florio

The history of the Belle Époque reveals many scandalous stories. Behind the elegant portraits interesting lives of grand dames and adventurous...

Giordana Goretti 5 December 2023

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

Artist Stories

Evelyn De Morgan, The Pre-Raphaelite Sister You May Not Know

Welcome to the work of Evelyn De Morgan. Jewel rich colors, gorgeously draped figures and a feminist message – what’s not to like? But why is her...

Candy Bedworth 4 December 2023

John Everett Millais, Mariana, 1851, Tate Britain, London, UK. Literature

Literature in the Pre-Raphaelite Paintings

From its very inception, subjects taken from the literature were a staple for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Shakespeare, Keats, and Tennyson were...

Anastasia Manioudaki 4 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Fowling in the Marshes

Ancient Egypt. The famous land of Tutankhamun evokes popular images of pyramids, mummies, and tombs. It left an artistic heritage that is still...

James W Singer 3 December 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Judgement Scene from Book of the Dead of Hunefer

Death continues to be one of the greatest fears of human society. Since the dawn of recorded history through the centuries of plague, pestilence, and...

James W Singer 3 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

The Devonshire Hunting Tapestry: Boar and Bear Hunt (detail) Medieval Art

The Devonshire Hunting Tapestries

The Devonshire Hunting Tapestries consist of four large tapestries depicting scenes of hunting various animals. They were made between 1430 and 1450...

Anna Ingram 2 December 2023

Art History 101

5 Most Famous Medusa Paintings in Art History

Medusa, a creation of Greek mythology, stood as one of its most fearsome entities. In Ancient Greek, her name translates to “guardian” or...

Zuzanna Stańska 1 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

Fresco in the Sassetti Chapel, Florence. Renaissance

Redemption of Sins: Frescoes in Florentine Family Chapels

Renowned for its artistic flourishing, Renaissance Florence saw prominent families investing their fortunes into the city’s artistic...

Nikolina Konjevod 30 November 2023

Photography

Man Ray and His Masks

The first artist that comes to mind if one says “masks” is James Ensor, so if you feel like reading about eerie atmosphere and skeletons, click...

Magda Michalska 30 November 2023