Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun Travels Across Europe
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun was a French portrait painter working in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. While her subject matter and color palette...
Natalia Iacobelli 23 October 2025
#royal portraits
Joanna of Castile: Story of a Misunderstood Queen in Portraits
Joanna of Castile, also known as Joanna the Mad, was never expected to inherit the throne of Castile and Aragon in the 16th century. Due to her...
Anna Ingram 23 October 2025
Rebelious Princess—Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda, Princess of Éboli
“Who is this beauty with an eyepatch?” you may ask. Is she some sort of pirate queen? No, but you are not far from the truth. Ana de Mendoza de...
Joanna Kaszubowska 17 October 2025
Masterpiece Story: Fowling in the Marshes
Ancient Egypt. The famous land of Tutankhamun evokes popular images of pyramids, mummies, and tombs. It left an artistic heritage that is still...
James W Singer 24 August 2025
Masterpiece Story: The Portrait of Empress Dowager Cixi by Katharine Augusta Carl
Art and politics have been closely intertwined throughout global history. This article studies the case of The Empress Dowager Cixi of China by...
Iolanda Munck 10 August 2025
The Lost Portrait of Henry VIII: Art in Service of Power
Posing proudly in front of the fascinated spectator, a monarch fixes us with his majestic gaze. Perhaps you recognized the best-known portrait of...
Montaine Dumont 4 August 2025
How to Look Fabulous: Rococo Women Beauty Guide
How to look fabulous? That is the question! Let’s refer to the most splendid and opulent period of history: the 18th century. The Enlightenment era...
Kateryna Martynova 7 July 2025
Gian Gastone de’ Medici: The Forgotten Queer Legacy of the Last Medici
The Medici Family. For most, these three words conjure up images of Cosimo de’ Medici, Lorenzo de’ Medici, or the many artists and artworks...
Guest Author 18 June 2025
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
5 Best Works by Diego Velázquez
Diego Velázquez is the most important figure of the Spanish Baroque period and one of Europe’s most significant old masters. He was born in...
Anna Ingram 6 June 2025
Diego Velázquez in 10 Paintings
Diego Velázquez was one of the greatest painters of the Spanish Golden Age. Born in 1599 in Seville, he began with religious commissions but soon...
Jimena Aullet 6 June 2025
Masterpiece Story: Queen Mother Idia of Benin
Africa is a beautiful continent filled with sweeping landscapes and mighty rivers. Its history is filled with great kingdoms and large empires. Its...
James W Singer 11 May 2025
