#Portraits

North American Art

Prudence Heward in 5 Paintings: Portraying the Modern Canadian Woman

Prudence Heward (1896–1947) was an acclaimed Canadian woman artist who was active during the interwar period. Her work was shown all over the...

Seoyoung (Alyssa) Kim 10 March 2025

Herstory

Margaret of Austria: The Public Image of a Renaissance Stateswoman

Instagram and other social media have long since taken over our inherent need to be seen and acknowledged by our surroundings. But this deliberate...

Kero Fichter 6 March 2025

Renaissance

Simonetta Vespucci: The Renaissance Top Model

If you would like to spot one woman from the Renaissance who could be called a top model—it would be Simonetta Vespucci. Nicknamed La Bella,...

Zuzanna Stańska 6 March 2025

Renaissance

4 Women from Leonardo da Vinci’s Paintings

The life and work of Leonardo da Vinci have been dissected and analyzed in detail by the sharp eye of art critics and historians. Yet, the biography...

Maria Frazzoni 6 March 2025

Katy Hessel, The Story of Art Without Men, Suzanne Valadon, The Blue Room, 1923, European Art

Suzanne Valadon: Model, Painter, Rebel

Throughout her inspiring life, Suzanne Valadon transitioned from an in-demand model to a successful artist. Along the way, she challenged societal...

Lauren Kraut 5 March 2025

Women Artists

Sylvia Sleigh—A Woman Who Slayed Male Nudes

Sylvia Sleigh was beautiful inside out—brave and independent, she pursued her figurative style which was regarded as outmoded in the years of Pop...

Magda Michalska 5 March 2025

Artist Stories

Broncia Koller-Pinell: An Artist Lost to Time

If you are like me, it is entirely probable that you have never heard of Broncia Koller-Pinell (1863–1934). It has nothing to do with the quality...

Rachel Witte 3 March 2025

Dine & Wine

10 Paintings That Capture Coffee’s Cultural Impact

Few beverages have shaped culture quite like coffee. Artists across centuries have captured coffee in paintings, from intimate domestic moments to...

Elizabeth Provost 27 February 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

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Theatre Box by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Entertainments such as cabarets, theatres, and the circus were popular themes among the Impressionist painters whose mission was portraying modern...

Zuzanna Stańska 25 February 2025

Love Story

Lise Tréhot—The Mysterious Beauty from Renoir’s Paintings

Born into a humble French family, Lise Tréhot (1848–1922) was an artist’s model who posed exclusively for Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919).

Anuradha Sroha 24 February 2025

Lady with an Ermine Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci

One of the greatest masterpieces of Western art, Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci, presents Cecilia Gallerani (ca. 1473-1536). Young,...

Zuzanna Stańska 23 February 2025