#france

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 2 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

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 29 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

Art History 101

Les Nabis 101

“Nabis” in Hebrew means “prophets.” In the Fall of 1888, a group of students at the Parisian Académie Julian disappointed with the strict...

Magda Michalska 17 December 2022

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 13 December 2022

Masterpiece Stories

Winter in Paris: Rooftops in the Snow by Gustave Caillebotte

You open your eyes to the early morning light filtering through your windows. You instantly feel the cold air of the bedroom as you see your warm...

James W Singer 11 December 2022

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Train in the Snow by Claude Monet

Claude Monet painted The Train in the Snow in 1875. The work was not shown in the Impressionist exhibition, but it reveals Monet’s attraction to...

Zuzanna Stańska 11 December 2022

Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, ca 1766-1833, lacquered gilt wood, Vietnam, Musée Guimet, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara

Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara was donated to the Musée Guimet in Paris, France, in 1889 by French archeologist Gustave Dumoutier. It represents the...

James W Singer 8 December 2022

Vincent van Gogh - Self-portrait with bandaged ear (1889, Courtauld Institute) Artist Stories

The Mystery of Vincent van Gogh’s Death

Vincent van Gogh’s death occurred in the early morning of 29 July 1890, in his room at the Auberge Ravoux in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise in...

Zuzanna Stańska 4 December 2022