#19th Century

Women Artists

Anna Bilińska’s Parisian Career and Tragic Life

Read the story of Anna Bilińska, a Polish painter who spent her life in Paris. Discover her moving portraits and the fascinating story of her...

Magda Michalska 12 April 2023

Museum Stories

Van Gogh Museum Staff Picks

Have you ever wondered who knows the best of a museum’s collection? Probably the people who spend most of their lives between these artworks: the...

Kate Wojtczak 30 March 2023

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 27 March 2023

Post-Impressionism

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Portraying Misia Natanson at the Theater

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec is famous for his portrayals of Parisian nightlife: cabarets, theaters, and brothels. He showed us a world of decadence and...

Alicja Gluszek 27 March 2023

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 23 March 2023

Rivers in paintings: J.M.W. Turner, The Fighting Temeraire, 1839, National Gallery, London, UK. Painting

Down by the River: Rivers in Famous Paintings

From the dawn of civilization, rivers have been the crux of human life. Most great cities are built around rivers. We use them for sustenance,...

Anastasia Manioudaki 22 March 2023

Impressionism

Eva Gonzalès: Female Impressionist in the Shadows

While Eva Gonzalès’ privileged upbringing and supportive family gave her the opportunities to grow in her artistic abilities and broaden her...

Rachel Witte 10 March 2023

Impressionism

Fanny Brate: An Everyday Painter You Need to Know

Fanny Brate was born in Stockholm in 1861. Showing great potential from a young age, she started taking drawing and painting classes when she was...

Gokce Dyson 10 March 2023

Rose Peckham, May Alcott Nieriker, 1877, Louisa May Alcott Memorial Association, Orchard House, Concord, MA, USA. Orchard House’s website. Women Artists

Abigail May Alcott Nieriker: Feminist Trailblazer and the Real Amy March from Little Women

Abigail May Alcott Nieriker was the real Amy March from Little Women. However, she was so much more than an inspiration. Born under a lucky star, she...

Jimena Escoto 8 March 2023

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 27 February 2023

Impressionism

Masterpiece Story: Strolling along the Seashore by Joaquin Sorolla

This painting is the crowning work of Joaquin Sorolla’s late period. It shows his wife, Clothilde, and eldest daughter, Maria, walking elegantly on...

Zuzanna Stańska 27 February 2023

Romanticism

The Bible According to William Blake

William Blake (1757–1827), an English Romantic poet, painter, and printmaker, was commissioned by his patron Thomas Butts, a civil servant, to...

Magda Michalska 26 February 2023