#religious art

Medieval Art

Saint Joseph As Baby Daddy: An Illustrated Medieval Guide

Let’s forget the traditional Nativity scene that we all know for a moment: Virgin Mary kneeling before baby Christ, Joseph standing right behind...

Ela Bobek 28 March 2023

Ende, Prologue, On the Church, Gerona Beatus, Miniature, ca. 975 CE Women Artists

Ende: The First Documented Spanish Female Manuscript Illuminator

She is an enigma, an ancient, foggy artist from northern Spain in the Middle Ages. We learn nothing about Ende’s identity, life, or whether she...

Wen Gu 28 March 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Saint George and the Dragon

There is a skirmish between the hero and the villain. Fabrics whip about, horse hoofs trample, and a dying scream erupts as Saint George slaughters...

James W Singer 28 March 2023

discarding image: Rothschild Canticles, Flanders, c. 1300 Medieval Art

The Best of Discarding Images

During the Middle Ages, illuminated manuscripts were first used in the Roman Catholic Church for liturgical services and prayers. The popularity of...

Anna Ingram 27 March 2023

Conservators restoring Plautilla Nelli’s Last Supper, found by Jane Fortune and her association. Women Artists

Art Detective Jane Fortune: Rediscovering Forgotten Female Artists

When Jane Fortune arrived in Florence in the 1960s to study art she was left with one burning question: where are the women artists? As she often...

Natalia Iacobelli 20 March 2023

Art reference to Lucas Cranach’s Adam and Eve in Dark, S03E04, 2017, Netflix. Netflix. Theater & Cinema

Art in the Netflix TV Series Dark

In June 2020 Netflix released the long-awaited third and final season of Dark. The German series, co-created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, has...

Arianna Richetti 17 March 2023

Asian Art

Journey to the East – Buddhist Art Across Cultures

From its beginnings in India, Buddhist art has traveled across cultures. Buddhism developed its character thanks to many pilgrims who made their...

Marina Kochetkova 3 March 2023

Aaron Douglas, Judgment Day, 1939, oil on tempered hardboard, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Judgement Day by Aaron Douglas

Judgment Day by Aaron Douglas is a masterpiece of Black history. It encapsulates the dynamic culture of the Harlem Renaissance through its striking...

James W Singer 27 February 2023

William Blake The Ancient of Days, from Europe A Prophecy, 1794, watercolor etching, The British Museum, London, UK. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Ancient of Days by William Blake

The Ancient of Days, designed, printed, and hand colored by William Blake, was the frontispiece of his 1794 poem Europe a Prophecy. An epic...

Catriona Miller 26 February 2023

Romanticism

The Bible According to William Blake

William Blake (1757–1827), an English Romantic poet, painter, and printmaker, was commissioned by his patron Thomas Butts, a civil servant, to...

Magda Michalska 26 February 2023

Women Artists

Dream-Like Artworks: Minnie Evans’ Divine Inspiration

Folk Art, Surrealist, Visionary, Americana, call it what you will. Minnie Evans’ (1892—1987) dream-like artworks speak of another world, a world...

Rachel Witte 25 February 2023

Cats

The Sacred Cats of Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptians revered cats of all kinds and honored them in their art. From servals to the mighty lion, cats were seen as powerful forces for...

Sarah Mills 17 February 2023