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Architecture

Carlo Scarpa: The Modern Son of Venice

When you think of Venice you probably first see Piazza San Marco in your mind’s eye. Then some canals and gondolas, or maybe the other way around.

Joanna Kaszubowska 20 November 2023

Artist Stories

Mariano Fortuny – A Genius From Venice

Yes, the title is a little misleading. Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo was not originally from Venice, as he was born in Granada in 1871, as the son of a...

Magda Michalska 20 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Pieter Bruegel’s Children’s Games Explained

Children’s Games is one of Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s most famous paintings. Just like in other works of his, it is debatable whether it was just...

Irina Diana Calu 20 November 2023

Symbolism

Mythological Femmes Fatales in Mysterious Symbolist Paintings

Symbolism developed in the 19th century. It began as a literary movement but quickly moved into other art forms. Symbolist painters rejected the...

Anastasia Manioudaki 20 November 2023

Correggio, Jupiter and Io, 1530, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Jupiter and Io by Correggio

Jupiter and Io by Correggio is a masterpiece of the Northern Italian Renaissance. It explores sensual nudity through the lens of a Roman...

James W Singer 19 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: An Allegory with Venus and Cupid by Agnolo Bronzino

An Allegory with Venus and Cupid by Agnolo Bronzino from the National Gallery in London is one of the most mysterious masterpieces of Mannerism. It...

Joanna Kaszubowska 19 November 2023

William Adolphe Bouguereau, Birth of Venus, 1879, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Birth of Venus by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

The Birth of Venus is probably the most famous painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and it is considered a masterpiece of French Academic...

James W Singer 19 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Perseus Rescuing Andromeda by Cavaliere d’Arpino

The roar of the sea monster blends with the screams of the scared princess! The chained beauty awaits her bloody death as the ugly beast lurches...

James W Singer 19 November 2023

Standing Bodhisattva, 3rd century, gray schist stone, Gandhara, Pakistan, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Standing Bodhisattva

Standing Bodhisattva is a great example of Gandharan art and its blended multicultural origins: East meets...

James W Singer 18 November 2023

Kiyohara Tama:Japanese Landscape, c. 1880, Gallery of Modern Art, Palermo, Italy. Women Artists

Kiyohara Tama or Eleonora Ragusa: An Amazing Story About a Japanese Female Painter in Sicily

When tracing Japanese art stories in Europe, we found out about this exquisite female painter. Kiyohara Tama or Otama (later known as Eleonora...

Magda Michalska 18 November 2023

Design

Tōkyō Thrift – Japonisme and the Japanese Bauhaus

The historical narrative of Modernism is overwhelmingly western. However, the history of the movement is, in reality, one of constant diffusion...

Geoffrey Bunting 18 November 2023

Art History 101

Japonisme: Western Fever for Japanese Art and Culture

During the mid-19th and 20th centuries, Western art saw the birth of Japonisme. The term was coined by Philippe Burty in 1872 and refers to the craze...

Jimena Escoto 18 November 2023