#france

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge, The Dance, 1890, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: At the Moulin Rouge, The Dance by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Tonight the Moulin Rouge is bursting at the seams. Men in dark coats and distinguished women dance and converse on the buzzing floor. Each has a...

Ruxi Rusu 16 June 2025

Art Nouveau

Loïe Fuller the Magical Dancer of Art Nouveau

Today we meet the performer Loïe Fuller, one of Art Nouveau’s most celebrated performers. She was a dancer and actress best known for her...

Europeana 16 June 2025

Museum Stories

10 Spectacular Hidden Gems at the Louvre Museum

The Louvre Museum in the heart of Paris is home to an incredible collection of artworks. Everyone knows it includes Mona Lisa, Nike of Samothrace,...

Camilla de Laurentis 16 June 2025

Nike of Samothrace, ca 200-175 BCE, Parian and Lartian marble, Paleopoli, Samothrace, Greece, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Nike of Samothrace

Nike of Samothrace is the masterpiece of an unknown Hellenistic artist. While the artist’s story may be unknown, the statue’s story is as complex...

James W Singer 11 June 2025

Artist Stories

What Art Has to Do with Politics: Gustave Courbet and the Paris Commune

The painter Gustave Courbet, a central figure of Realism, is known for his paintings in which he reveals the true lives of peasants and ordinary...

Rute Ferreira 10 June 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: A Burial at Ornans by Gustave Courbet

Who nowadays doesn’t appreciate Gustave Courbet‘s striking realism? We all do, but as happens with many geniuses, Courbet was not appreciated by...

Magda Michalska 10 June 2025

Erotica

The Scandalous Nudes of Gustave Courbet

In the 19th century, French painter and rebel Gustave Courbet generated outrage with his scandalous nudes. What exactly was so scandalous about his...

Kelly Hill 10 June 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées and One of Her Sisters

To a 21st-century viewer, the portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées might seem homo-erotic. However, pictured with her sister, the Duchess of Villars,...

Anna Ingram 9 June 2025

Sculpture

Auguste Préault in 10 Romantic Sculptures

People once thought Romanticism belonged only to painting, not sculpture. Auguste Préault challenged that belief with bold creativity. The...

Errika Gerakiti 3 June 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait with Her Daughter by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

Self-Portrait with Her Daughter, Julie by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun is a portrait masterpiece blending fashionable elegance and emotional naturalism.

James W Singer 1 June 2025

Surrealism

The Surrealistic World of Dora Maar

The name Dora Maar reminds most people of Pablo Picasso. But apart from being his muse and lover, she was first and foremost an ambitious and...

Michel Rutten 26 May 2025

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 25 May 2025