#france

Architecture

10 Gorgeous French Churches (That Aren’t Notre-Dame de Paris)

Do you still remember the Notre-Dame de Paris? It suffered a horrible fire in April 2019. Notre-Dame is by far France’s most famous church, but it...

Alexandra Kiely 18 April 2025

Rococo

François Boucher in 10 Paintings

François Boucher (1703–1770) was one of the major exponents of the Rococo style in the 18th century. His paintings showed the ostentation and...

Jimena Escoto 10 April 2025

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 6 April 2025

Women Artists

Madame de Pompadour As an Artist

Madame de Pompadour was the most influential mistress of Louis XV. Even though having influence over a king was no small deal, there is more to De...

Vithória Konzen Dill 4 April 2025

Rococo

7 Things You Need to Know About Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Before reading on, you should know that Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a Rococo master. One can say that Fragonard was Rococo. The works of this French...

Zuzanna Stańska, Matthew Vazquez 4 April 2025

Rococo

The Mysterious Master of Rococo: Watteau

Who was Watteau, one of the most prominent Rococo painters? Not much is known about his life, which makes it and his art all the more mysterious. Are...

Magda Michalska 4 April 2025

Women Artists

Olga Boznańska: The Uneasy Story of a Polish Painter

Olga Boznańska was one of the most famous Polish female painters. Her multiple portraits of fragile women and children are permeated with notes of...

Magda Michalska, Aniela Rybak-Vaganay 25 March 2025

Artist Stories

Bizarre Selfies of Joseph Ducreux—The Meme Lord

You’ve probably seen a painting of a dapper gentleman in a powdered wig, pointing at you with a knowing expression—perhaps even offering some...

Javier Abel Miguel 13 March 2025

Alexandre Cabanel, Cleopatra, 1887, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Cleopatra by Alexandre Cabanel

Queen Cleopatra is a popular subject today – as she was in the late 19th century. Alexandre Cabanel’s Cleopatra explores a single moment of her...

James W Singer 11 March 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Two Sisters (On the Terrace) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

This beautiful painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is known under two titles. The first one – Two Sisters (in French: Les Deux Sœurs) was given to...

Zuzanna Stańska 25 February 2025

Jo Van Gogh Bonger, Vincent Van Gogh, Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, 1887 Painting

A Fire in His Soul: How Paris Changed Vincent van Gogh

In his new book A Fire in His Soul, Miles J. Unger gives us Vincent van Gogh as we’ve never seen him before—abrasive, intransigent, egotistical,...

Ledys Chemin 21 February 2025

Artist Stories

Henri Rivière: Parisian Master Printmaker

Henri Rivière was a painter, printmaker, and designer. He had a unique aesthetic that combined an Impressionist sensibility, Japanese printmaking...

Louisa Mahoney 21 February 2025