#france

Yves Klein, Peinture de Feu sans titre, 1961 Artist Stories

7 Not Just Blue Masterpieces by Yves Klein

Although he only lived 34 years, it could seem that Yves Klein lived more than one life. This French artist initially devoted himself to the...

Camilla de Laurentis 26 January 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Railway by Édouard Manet

In 1873 when this painting was created by the Realist master Édouard Manet, the Gare Saint–Lazare was the largest and busiest train station in...

Zuzanna Stańska 23 January 2023

Sport

Skiing in Art History

Artists have long captured the magic of snow. During the 19th century, when winter sports like skiing, skating, and sledding became more popular in...

Louisa Mahoney 21 January 2023

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 18 January 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Woman at Her Toilette by Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot was closely associated with French Impressionism and actively participated in seven out of eight group exhibitions. She maintained...

Zuzanna Stańska 14 January 2023

Impressionism

Julie Manet – The Eternal Beauty of Impressionism

Julie Manet – called the beauty of Impressionism – was the daughter of the wealthy, well-connected painter Berthe Morisot and Eugène Manet,...

Pola Otterstein 14 January 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Meules by Claude Monet

Claude Monet, the master of Impressionism, loved to paint in series. The one with haystacks (in French called meules) is his most well-known, and was...

Zuzanna Stańska 9 January 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Still Life with Mackerel by Anne Vallayer-Coster

Anne Vallayer-Coster was one of the foremost still-life painters in 18th-century France. She was enormously prolific and extremely popular. Her works...

James W Singer 7 January 2023

Jean Antoine Watteau, Feast of Love, ca 1718-19, oil on canvas, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Feast of Love by Jean-Antoine Watteau

Feast of Love is a beautiful painting by Jean-Antoine Watteau that explores the themes of love and impermanence. It holds a polished mixture of urban...

James W Singer 31 December 2022

Photography

The True Star of Early Photography: Virginia Oldoini

Virginia Elisabetta Luisa Antonietta Teresa Maria Oldoini – in short, Countess of Castiglione – was a real celebrity of her times. I imagine that...

Zuzanna Stańska 20 December 2022

Photography

Capturing Light: The Pioneers of Photography in France

It all officially began in 1839 in two countries at the same time: in the UK, the Royal Academy announced the discovery of a method of capturing...

Magda Michalska 20 December 2022

Symbolism

Odilon Redon’s World of Darkness

The Balloon-Eye, The Crying Spider, The Cactus Man, The Cyclops… This is not a list of creatures from some horror movie. These are paintings...

Zuzanna Stańska 17 December 2022