#france

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) was the most prolific French painter of the 18th century. He created over 550 paintings embodying the spirit of...

James W Singer 14 April 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher

François Boucher (1703–1770) was the most celebrated French painter of the 18th century. His painting Madame de Pompadour captures the beautiful...

James W Singer 14 April 2024

François Clouet (School), Portrait of Louise de Lorraine, ca. 1575, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Louise de Lorraine by François Clouet (School)

Portrait of Louise de Lorraine is a French Renaissance painting that exudes the artistic ideas of its time and captures the queen’s personal and...

James W Singer 14 April 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: La Toilette by François Boucher

The soft rustle of silky cloth and the hard crackling of burning wood echo against the yellow-papered walls of the boudoir. The small room is...

James W Singer 14 April 2024

Katy Hessel, The Story of Art Without Men, Suzanne Valadon, The Blue Room, 1923, European Art

Suzanne Valadon: Model, Painter, Rebel

Throughout her inspiring life, Suzanne Valadon transitioned from an in-demand model to a successful artist. Along the way, she challenged societal...

Lauren Kraut 12 April 2024

Review

Rebel, Rebel: Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore

If I asked for your top 10 political artists, does Claude Cahun spring to mind? Marcel Moore? No, I guessed as much. But these two art activists had...

Candy Bedworth 12 April 2024

Art Travels

Art and Sports: En Route to the Paris 2024 Olympics

The forthcoming Paris 2024 Summer Olympics will bridge the worlds of art and sport, with equestrian competitions at the Palace of Versailles, fencing...

Ledys Chemin 9 April 2024

Artist Stories

Joanna Hiffernan: Artist, Model and Whistler’s Muse

Joanna Hiffernan and James Abbott McNeill Whistler met in London in 1861. He instantly fell in love with her striking red hair and outspoken...

Louisa Mahoney 4 April 2024

Surrealism

Leonor Fini: I’m Not a Muse, I’m an Artist

Leonor Fini didn’t agree with André Breton about the role of women in art: the father of Surrealism saw women solely as muses inspiring male...

Magda Michalska 4 April 2024

Fashion

Sonia Delaunay and Clothing: Geometry in Fashion

Sonia Delaunay (1885-1979) was a busy woman. She was an officer of the French Legion of Honor, a wife of a famous painter, and an artist herself. On...

Magda Michalska 2 April 2024

Sonia Delaunay, Blaise Cendrars, La prose du Sonia Robert Delaunay, Transsibérien et de la Petite Jehanne de France, 1913 Love Story

The Visual Vibrations of Sonia and Robert Delaunay

Soulmates in both life and art, Sonia and Robert Delaunay formed what is probably the most extraordinary creative partnership in art history. Cubism, colour and passion - read on!

Candy Bedworth 2 April 2024

Fashion

Dressed in a Masterpiece: Sonia Delaunay and Her Wearable Art

Sonia Delaunay was a Ukrainian-born French artist and fashion designer, who spent most of her working life in Paris. Along with her husband, Robert...

Zuzanna Stańska 2 April 2024