#allegorical painting

Artist Stories

Artemisia Gentileschi: The Rape Survivor and Her Revenge

Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the best Italian Baroque painters. This strong woman painted plenty of paintings of strong and suffering women from...

Zuzanna Stańska 8 July 2026

Aleksandra Waliszewska, Untitled, 1997-2022, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland. Contemporary Art

The Dark Arts of Aleksandra Waliszewska

Rather unsettling, quite macabre, and more than slightly erotic, the paintings and illustrations by Polish artist Aleksandra Waliszewska are...

Marta Wiktoria Bryll 2 July 2026

Mannerism

The Fantasy World of Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s Portraits

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was the king of Mannerism. If you see a portrait made of plants, vegetables, books, animals and generally speaking, stuff—you...

Zuzanna Stańska 2 July 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Pieter Bruegel’s Children’s Games Explained

Children’s Games is one of Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s most famous paintings. Just like in other works of his, it is debatable whether it was just...

Irina Diana Calu 8 June 2026

Mannerism

4 Seasons You Haven’t Seen Before—Arcimboldo’s Astonishing Portraits

Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s paintings of the four seasons have been astonishing audiences from the 16th century up to this day. Even though allegorical...

Anastasia Manioudaki 5 June 2026

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 25 May 2026

Women Artists

Ginevra Cantofoli—A Baroque Painter from Bologna in 7 Paintings

Ginevra Cantofoli was a Bolognese painter of the Baroque period. Her story speaks to the remarkable power of women supporting one another in the...

Nikolina Konjevod 16 April 2026

Art History 101

Dutch Golden Age Explained

When one thinks of any Golden Age, the first thing that comes to mind is the 17th-century Netherlands at its glory – the Dutch Golden Age. The most...

Nicole Ganbold 30 March 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: An Allegory with Venus and Cupid by Agnolo Bronzino

An Allegory with Venus and Cupid by Agnolo Bronzino from the National Gallery in London is one of the most mysterious masterpieces of Mannerism. It...

Joanna Kaszubowska 8 February 2026

Artist Stories

Bronzino in 10 Paintings

Bronzino was of the generation of artists who had to find a way of following the perfection of the High Renaissance. They pushed the conventions of...

Catriona Miller, 17 November 2025

Neoclassicism

Angelica Kauffman in 10 Paintings

Angelica Kauffman (1741–1807) was a Swiss Neoclassical painter. Despite the prevalent misogyny in the 18th-century art world, Kauffman gained fame,...

Jimena Escoto 30 October 2025

Art State of Mind

Allegories of Autumn: Top 10 Sensational Symbolic Artworks

What does Autumn mean to you? Traditionally, it meant the abundance of the harvest, a celebration of ripeness and maturity. Museums and galleries are...

Candy Bedworth 22 September 2025