#Colonialism

Jean-Etienne Liotard, Chocolate Girl, 1754, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany Dine & Wine

Chocolate in Painting for a Cozy Evening

Even when it is not that cold, I still crave a good old hot chocolate (in painting) and a cozy evening under the blanket. We present to you a short...

Magda Michalska 19 April 2024

Great Princess Mama Occollo, ca 1850-70, oil on canvas mounted on wood, Cuzco, Peru, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Great Princess Mama Occollo

Great Princess Mama Occollo is an amazing masterpiece of South American art from the 19th century in the collection of the Denver Art Museum. It...

James W Singer 7 April 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Queen Mother Idia of Benin

Africa is a beautiful continent filled with sweeping landscapes and mighty rivers. Its history is filled with great kingdoms and large empires. Its...

James W Singer 3 March 2024

History

Enslaved Black Models in European Art: Anonymous Objects?

Portraits of Black people are rare in European art history. Let’s be clear: they were there, in society, but they rarely made it into art, except...

Candy Bedworth 20 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The African King Caspar by Hendrik Heerschop

White subjects have dominated the Western art tradition for millennia, while people of color have been vastly underrepresented and misrepresented.

James W Singer 20 February 2024

Painting

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Belley by Girodet

Although representations of Black people were overlooked in European art for a long time, current social and political movements participate to...

Amélie Pascutto 20 February 2024

Warrior and Attendants, 16th-17th century, brass, Royal Palace, Benin City, Nigeria, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Warrior and Attendants of Benin

Warrior and Attendants is a masterpiece of Benin art. It encapsulates the beauty of Africa and its people. Black is beautiful. Black is...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

Double-Headed Serpent, ca 1400-1521, mosaic on wood, British Museum, London, UK. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Double-Headed Serpent

Double-Headed Serpent is a masterpiece of Aztec art that combines religious and commercial significance. It is filled with hidden allusions under a...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

African Art

6 Contemporary African Artists You Should Know

The contemporary art scene is booming in Africa. Artists are getting more attention and recognition, taking part in the most prestigious art fairs...

Natalia Tiberio 8 February 2024

statues, london, women, Boudicca and her daughters, Thomas Thornycroft Sculpture

Does London Value Animals More Than Women?

Where are the women in the UK’s public art installations? Let’s take a look at the politics of sculptural commissions plus a top ten of...

Candy Bedworth 5 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Fons Americanus by Kara Walker

Kara Elizabeth Walker, born in 1969, is an American contemporary artist. She is known as a painter, silhouettist, print-maker, installation artist,...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 4 February 2024

Baroque

Beautiful Chinese Porcelain in Dutch Still Lifes

Chinese culture has always been an object of European fascination – in art history, we see it in paintings, ornaments, architecture, fashion, and...

Nicole Ganbold 20 January 2024