#france

Art History 101

Orientalism – Quick Explanation

19th-century Europeans were fascinated by the Near East and North Africa. Everything began roughly around the time of the Napoleonic invasion of...

Magda Michalska 3 July 2024

Romanticism

Eugène Delacroix in 10 Paintings: Poetry, Passion, and Power

Early 19th-century French art was a battle between cool, crisp, precisely observed Neoclassicism and Romanticism’s passion for emotion, drama,...

Catriona Miller 3 July 2024

Romanticism

The Orientalism of Eugène Delacroix – Beware of the Colors!

Eugène Delacroix was a French artist who was seen as the leader of the French Romantic school of art from the beginning of his career. 19th-century...

Zuzanna Stańska 3 July 2024

Marie-Denise Villers, Self-Portrait, 1802, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait by Marie-Denise Villers

Self-Portrait by Marie-Denise Villers showcases the genius of a leading female artist of Napoleonic...

James W Singer 30 June 2024

Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair, 1852-1855, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Animals

Masterpiece Story: The Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur

Today’s Masterpiece Story is that of The Horse Fair by French Realist painter Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899). The Horse Fair was the undisputed star of...

Alexandra Kiely 26 June 2024

Rosa Bonheur, Plowing in the Nivernais Artist Stories

The Radical and Rebellious Rosa Bonheur

Rosa Bonheur's vivid animal portraits made her one of France's richest 19th century artist. Her unconventional personal life is fascinating!

Candy Bedworth 26 June 2024

Berthe Morisot, Summer's Day Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Summer’s Day by Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot was at the centre of Impressionism during the 1870s and 1880s and works like Summer’s Day seem utterly characteristic of the...

Catriona Miller 23 June 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Eva Gonzalès by Édouard Manet

You’ve probably heard of the Impressionists: Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, and Camille Pissarro. These guys are not only known for...

Abreeza Thomas 22 June 2024

European Art

Escape to the Forest: The Birth of Barbizon School

During the 19th century, the most promising artists trained at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris. The Academy taught its pupils...

Gokce Dyson 21 June 2024

Fauvism

Henri Matisse in 10 Paintings

A renowned artist, Henri Matisse was one of the most prominent figures of the avant-garde movement. He is widely considered the father of Fauvism.

Valeria Kumekina 19 June 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Harmony in Red by Henri Matisse

Sergei Shchukin once said “If a picture gives you a psychological shock, buy it. It’s a good one.” And the Matisse painting I would like to...

Zuzanna Stańska 19 June 2024

Art Travels

Travel in the Footsteps of Henri Matisse in Morocco

Until the advent of mass tourism, North Africa’s jewel, Morocco remained a relatively unknown world of sultans, spices and sparse deserts. A number...

Charlotte Stace 19 June 2024