#19th Century

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ophelia by John Everett Millais

Here she is, Ophelia from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, gracefully descending into a stream while collecting wildflowers. Overwhelmed by grief...

Zuzanna Stańska 31 August 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Seascape Near Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer by Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh is one of the most popular painters of all time. He dominates Post-Impressionism, he fills art books, and he inspires modern...

James W Singer 31 August 2025

Realism

Gustave Courbet in 10 Paintings

Gustave Courbet was the bad boy of 19th-century French art. A political and artistic radical, he was imprisoned after the failed 1871 Commune and...

Catriona Miller 29 August 2025

Artist Stories

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Claude Monet

Born on November 14, 1840, Claude Monet stands as one of the principal trailblazers in the realm of French Impressionist art. His dedication to the...

Zuzanna Stańska 28 August 2025

Animals

See a Man About a Dog: Dogs in Paintings

The title sentence is a charming English euphemism, usually used to apologize for one’s imminent departure or absence—generally to conceal...

Joanna Kaszubowska 26 August 2025

Realism

Édouard Manet in 10 Paintings: Scandal, Society, and the Spark of Modern Art

From the clatter of Parisian cafés to the hushed drama of the Salon, Édouard Manet was at the epicenter of 19th-century art’s most daring...

Joanna Kaszubowska 25 August 2025

North American Art

The Hudson River School: Celebrating Nature, American-Style

The Hudson River School was a uniquely American art movement – the first to develop after the country gained its independence in 1776. It was a...

Alexandra Kiely 25 August 2025

Realism

Józef Chełmoński in 10 Paintings: Capturing the Spirit of Rural Life

Józef Chełmoński masterfully portrayed life in the Polish countryside. His paintings reveal a subtle connection between human and nature,...

Kinga Dobosz 21 August 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Railway Station by William Powell Frith

The Victorian Era was a period of great technological advances that redefined life in Britain. The Railway Station by William Powell Frith is an...

Edoardo Cesarino 21 August 2025

Women Artists

Christina Rossetti: Interweaving Poetry and Art

Christina Rossetti (1830–1894) is still beloved today for her timeless poetry—but her creative influence transcends the written word. By...

Emily Snow 21 August 2025

Artist Stories

Aubrey Beardsley: Sharp Blacks and Whites of the Victorian Era

Aubrey Beardsley was an extremely talented draughtsman of the Victorian era. As a young boy, he suffered from tuberculosis, yet decided to live his...

Magda Michalska 21 August 2025

Impressionism

Gustave Caillebotte’s Paris: Modern, Middle Class, and Masculine

Some of Gustave Caillebotte’s most famous paintings show the Parisian boulevards with an Impressionist aura. Yet what exactly he chose to...

Catriona Miller 20 August 2025