#Portraits

Portrait of Madeleine. Marie-Guillemine Benoist, Portrait of Madeleine, 1800, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Madeleine by Marie-Guillemine Benoist

What is the message behind Marie-Guillemine Benoist’s Portrait of Madeleine? The history and tradition behind this 1800 painting might explain...

Jimena Escoto 16 March 2025

Sofonisba Anguissola, The Game of Chess, 1555. Women Artists

Masterpiece Story: The Game of Chess by Sofonisba Anguissola

Sofonisba Anguissola is known for her self-portraits and portraits of Spanish royalty. But her most provocative painting is perhaps The Game of...

Anna Ingram 16 March 2025

Women Artists

Jeanne Hébuterne: Not Only a Muse But an Artist in Her Own Right

Although Jeanne Hebuterne is often seen through the lens of her famous partner, Amedeo Modigliani and their tumultuous relationship, she was...

Magda Michalska 12 March 2025

Anna Claypoole Peale Women Artists

Female Artists of the Peale Family, America’s First Art Dynasty

The Peale family was America’s first artistic dynasty. Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was a prominent American artist and early museum...

Alexandra Kiely 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