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Ancient Art

Blues of Babylon: The Ishtar Gate

Babylon, the ancient Mesopotamian city (modern-day Iraq) existed from the 18th century to the 6th century BCE. Since that time its legend has...

Nadine Waldmann 6 November 2023

Women Artists

Four Female Court Painters You Did Not Know

Throughout history, art has always played an important role in royal propaganda across Europe. Royal families were in a race to employ the best...

Gokce Dyson 6 November 2023

Wang Ximeng, One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, Song dynasty, 1113, ink and color on silk scroll, Palace Museum, Beijing, China. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains by Wang Ximeng

Wang Ximeng’s One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is a masterpiece of the Northern Song dynasty and of the larger history of traditional...

James W Singer 5 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Rainy Season in the Tropics by Frederic Edwin Church

In our Masterpiece Stories series we have something truly beautiful for you. I want to discuss Rainy Season in the Tropics by Frederic Edwin Church,...

Zuzanna Stańska 5 November 2023

Utagawa Hiroshige maple trees: Utagawa Hiroshige, Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine and Tsugi Bridge, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1857, ink on paper, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Maple Trees at Mama by Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige’s prints were exported to Europe and became very popular with Western artists. Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh owned...

James W Singer 5 November 2023

Johan Thomas Lundbye, View from Kitnæs on Roskilde Fjord, 1843, National Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: View from Kitnæs on Roskilde Fjord by Johan Thomas Lundbye

View from Kitnæs on Roskilde Fjord by Johan Thomas Lundbye is a masterpiece of 19th century Danish landscape painting. It set a new standard for the...

James W Singer 5 November 2023

Artifacts. Fascinating Facts about Art, Artists, and the Art World. Phaidon Review

Book Review: ARTIFACTS – Fascinating Facts About Art, Artists, and the Art World

Technically, artworks should stand on their own but let’s be honest; we’re all just humans. A good anecdote or a quirky detail about the...

Joanna Kaszubowska 4 November 2023

Women Artists

Can You Imagine the Story of Art Without Men? Katy Hessel Did It for You

The Story of Art Without Men turns traditional art history on its head. Katy Hessel opens our eyes to hundreds of female artists previously overlooked or dismissed. This brilliant book places women front and center, and the results are magnificent!

Candy Bedworth 4 November 2023

A Perfect Present: Great Women Painters Review

Book Review: Great Women Painters

Whether for a birthday or any other occasion, Phaidon’s Great Women Painters is an ideal present for any art lover. Stunningly presented in a...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 4 November 2023

Review

Art Explained – 100 Masterpieces and What They Mean by Susie Hodge, Book Review

Depending on where you stand in the “what makes art” debate, you may think that art just is – it doesn’t need to be explained. But,...

Ledys Chemin 4 November 2023

See What You're Missing cover Review

Book Review: See What You’re Missing

See What You’re Missing: New Ways of Looking at the World Through Art, a new book by UK art expert and former Tate director Will Gompertz,...

Alexandra Kiely 4 November 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Irises by Vincent van Gogh

One year before his death on March 30, 1890, Vincent van Gogh chose to enter Saint Paul de Mausole, an asylum in Saint-Rémy, originally a...

Zuzanna Stańska 3 November 2023