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Artist Stories

Painting a Woman: The Story of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener Through Their Art

The Danish landscape artist Lili Elvenes (1882-1931), born Einar Wegener and better known as Lili Elbe, and her spouse, the Art Deco portrait artist...

Iolanda Munck 27 March 2024

Art Nouveau

Loïe Fuller the Magical Dancer of Art Nouveau

Today we meet the performer Loïe Fuller, one of Art Nouveau’s most celebrated performers. She was a dancer and actress best known for her...

Europeana 27 March 2024

Art Nouveau

Ethel Reed – When a Meteor Crossed the Night Sky of Art Nouveau

If you’ve heard of Ethel Reed, you are probably either a devotee of late-19th-century American poster art or an art history student. After the...

Wen Gu 27 March 2024

Women Artists

From St. Petersburg to Hamburg: The Artistic Odyssey of Elena Luksch-Makowsky

Elena Luksch-Makowsky was a trailblazing painter and sculptor whose work traversed the cultural landscapes of St. Petersburg, Vienna, and Hamburg. In...

Marija Canjuga 27 March 2024

Literature

Writing Poetry and Inspiring Painters: Portraits of Anna Akhmatova

It is hard to say how many portraits of the poet Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966) exist – she was painted by many famous artists of the 20th century. She...

Elizaveta Ermakova 27 March 2024

Ende, Prologue, On the Church, Gerona Beatus, Miniature, ca. 975 CE Women Artists

Ende: The First Documented Spanish Female Manuscript Illuminator

She is an enigma, an ancient, foggy artist from northern Spain in the Middle Ages. We learn nothing about Ende’s identity, life, or whether she...

Wen Gu 26 March 2024

Animals

Secrets of Pets in Art

There’s nothing better than going to a museum and spotting a cute pet hidden in a painting. I mean, after all, one of art’s functions is...

Marta Wiktoria Bryll 26 March 2024

Animals

Thomas Gainsborough and His Dog Portraits

Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) was a portrait and landscape painter. During his career, he often painted dogs accompanying his sitters. He always...

Joanna Kaszubowska 26 March 2024

WTF Art History

The Pre-Raphaelites and the Wombat

Many people are obsessed with cute cats, penguins, pandas, koalas, and all sorts of animals. However one rarely hears about the wombat, especially in...

Joanna Kaszubowska 26 March 2024

Joana Vasconcelos, Material Girl Contemporary Art

Joana Vasconcelos: Reshaping Femininity

Upending convention and pushing boundaries, Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos grapples with themes of gender stereotypes and societal values...

Natalia Iacobelli 25 March 2024

Photograph showing Hundertwasserhaus, a residential building with colorful facade and vegetation on the roof. Artist Stories

Colorful World of Friedensreich Hundertwasser in 5 Works

Step into the world of Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000) as we explore his 5 extraordinary works of art and architecture bursting with colors...

Nikolina Konjevod 25 March 2024

Jean-François de Troy, Diana and Actaeon, 1734, Kunstmuseum, Basel, Switzerland. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Diana and Actaeon by Jean-François de Troy

Diana and Actaeon by Jean-François de Troy is a French masterpiece blending the exuberance of Rococo sensuality with the intellectualism of...

James W Singer 25 March 2024