#19th Century

Women Artists

Female vs. Male Gaze: Suzanne Valadon’s Reclining Nude

Female nudes are prevalent throughout art history. There are ancient mythological goddesses, the Biblical Eves and Susannas, and then there are the...

Lauren Kraut 5 March 2025

Women Artists

Mary Cassatt’s Feminist Mural Which Has Gone Missing

Mary Cassatt was a well-known Impressionist who often illustrated motherhood and traditional female activities in the 19th century. When she was 50,...

Magda Michalska 4 March 2025

Post-Impressionism

Vincent van Gogh’s Iconic Sunflowers

Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers are probably among the most famous paintings of all time. The artist loved these yellow flowers and painted them...

Anastasia Manioudaki 28 February 2025

Artist Stories

8 Things Everyone Should Know About Joaquín Sorolla

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida was a Spanish painter whose style was a variant of Impressionism. His best works, painted in the open air, vividly portray...

Zuzanna Stańska 26 February 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Two Sisters (On the Terrace) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

This beautiful painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is known under two titles. The first one – Two Sisters (in French: Les Deux Sœurs) was given to...

Zuzanna Stańska 25 February 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Theatre Box by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Entertainments such as cabarets, theatres, and the circus were popular themes among the Impressionist painters whose mission was portraying modern...

Zuzanna Stańska 25 February 2025

Artist Stories

Pierre-Auguste Renoir: The Impressive Life of an Impressionist

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, a leading member of Impressionism, was perhaps the most vibrant painter of color and light in the famous French movement.

Sam Malone 25 February 2025

Love Story

Lise Tréhot—The Mysterious Beauty from Renoir’s Paintings

Born into a humble French family, Lise Tréhot (1848–1922) was an artist’s model who posed exclusively for Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919).

Anuradha Sroha 24 February 2025

Ilya Repin, Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, 1880–1891, State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg WTF Art History

Want to Insult Your Enemy? Get Inspired by the Badass Zaporozhian Cossacks!

There are dozens if not hundreds of forged documents in the history of the world. They weren’t forged just for fun. Some of them were the basis...

Zuzanna Stańska 24 February 2025

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip, Cat at Play, ca 1860-78, oil on wood panel, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Cat at Play by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip

Cat at Play is a masterpiece by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip who deserves to have her legacy revised and her fame revived. Art does not need to be radical...

James W Singer 23 February 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat by John Weguelin

Here is a Masterpiece Story to honor our beloved cats. The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat by John Weguelin presents an imaginative interpretation of an...

Alexandra Kiely 23 February 2025

Jo Van Gogh Bonger, Vincent Van Gogh, Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, 1887 Painting

A Fire in His Soul: How Paris Changed Vincent van Gogh

In his new book A Fire in His Soul, Miles J. Unger gives us Vincent van Gogh as we’ve never seen him before—abrasive, intransigent, egotistical,...

Ledys Chemin 21 February 2025