Masterpiece Story: Vase with Flowers by Rachel Ruysch
Let’s discuss one of the greatest still-life artists: Rachel Ruysch. Still-life paintings do not draw the crowds at museums. They are often...
James W Singer 20 April 2025
#Dutch Golden Age
Masterpiece Story: The Music Lesson by Johannes Vermeer
Music was a big part of daily life in Holland in Johannes Vermeer’s time. As a testament to that, 14 Vermeer paintings include a musical...
Tom Anderson 13 April 2025
Masterpiece Story: Art of Painting by Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer is an enigmatic figure in the history of art. He is considered one of the most famous artists of the Dutch Golden Age. Why are his...
James W Singer 13 April 2025
Masterpiece Story: The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer
Among many representations of domestic scenes of respectable Dutch middle-class households, there is one that never ceases to impress and capture the...
Giordana Goretti 13 April 2025
Masterpiece Story: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer
The Girl with a Pearl Earring is usually the first image that comes to mind when we think of Johannes Vermeer. It has inspired multiple references in...
Soledad Castillo Jara 13 April 2025
Masterpiece Story: Man Offering Money to a Young Woman by Judith Leyster
Judith Leyster was a powerhouse female artist of the Dutch Golden Age. Man Offering Money to a Young Woman is one of her many...
James W Singer 30 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: The Sentry by Carel Fabritius
Carel Fabritius (Dutch, 1622–1654) died at age 32 in a gunpowder explosion in Delft, a disaster that presumably destroyed many of his paintings. We...
Tom Anderson 17 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: Dog at Rest by Gerrit Dou
Gerrit Dou’s Dog at Rest is a masterpiece of Dutch genre painting, perfect for both dog enthusiasts and art...
James W Singer 23 February 2025
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 16 February 2025
Holy Cow! Why Did the Dutch Painters Love Cows?
Every time I look at 17th-century Dutch paintings, I ask myself the same question: why do they always show cows? You will probably think this is a...
Magda Michalska 12 February 2025
Maria Sibylla Merian—An Artist Who Changed Science Forever
In the 17th century, it has been widely believed that insects were just spontaneously born of mud, dirt, or rotting flesh, but that notion has been...
Nicole Ganbold 11 February 2025
