#19th Century

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Death of Cleopatra by Edmonia Lewis

As a Black and Indigenous woman, Edmonia Lewis overcame prejudice and defied societal expectations to become a successful sculptor. Her Death of...

Catriona Miller 11 March 2025

Zenobia:Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, Zenobia in Chains, ca. 1859. Ancient Rome

The Ancient Queen and the Modern Sculptress: Zenobia by Harriet Hosmer

Harriet Hosmer, the 19th-century American sculptor from Watertown, Massachusetts was the exceptional talent behind the towering sculpture of Zenobia.

Maya M. Tola 11 March 2025

Anna Claypoole Peale Women Artists

Female Artists of the Peale Family, America’s First Art Dynasty

The Peale family was America’s first artistic dynasty. Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was a prominent American artist and early museum...

Alexandra Kiely 10 March 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: A Gentleman’s Table by Claude Raguet Hirst

A Gentleman’s Table by Claude Raguet Hirst is a mysterious painting that echoes the realism of Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, and Henry Ossawa...

James W Singer 9 March 2025

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