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
#royal portraits
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
Habemus Papam! The Most Famous Portraits of Popes in Art History
For ages, the Catholic Church has been a hugely important patron of the arts. As the Papal States (which predated Vatican City) were enormously...
Zuzanna Stańska 8 May 2025
Fashion Icons in Art
Art and fashion are often intertwined, and isn’t fashion a form of art after all? Not only can visual arts represent the fashion icons that marked...
Vithória Konzen Dill 5 May 2025
Power and Propaganda—The British Royal Portraits
Royal portraiture is a centuries-old tradition, but it might be called the forerunner of the posed selfie—an artfully curated image that is meant...
Candy Bedworth 29 April 2025
Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Elizabeth I
The portrait of Elizabeth I is attributed to the workshop of Nicholas Hilliard and showcases the queen in her sixties. Similar to other images of...
Anna Ingram 24 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: The Phoenix Portrait of Elizabeth I
One of the most famous depictions of Elizabeth I is Nicholas Hilliard’s Phoenix Portrait, depicting the Queen with a pendant shaped like a mythical...
Guest Author 24 March 2025
Modern Muse: Arpita Shah’s Feminist Take on Mughal Portraiture
Staging an intervention in art history, and specifically in Indian miniature portraiture, Arpita Shah replaces male Mughal emperors with inspiring...
Guest Author 17 March 2025
The Sun King’s Reflection: Portraits of Louis XIV
Louis XIV was definitely a great arts patron but sadly a slightly less great king. However, that didn’t stop him from being self-indulging,...
Magda Michalska 17 February 2025
Nefertiti as a Beauty Icon
Nefertiti is a beauty icon and one of the most powerful women who has inspired us throughout centuries. Responding to the rhythms of the age, she...
Marina Kochetkova 18 October 2024
Masterpiece Story: The Pineapple Picture
Known as the “pineapple picture,” this enigmatic 17th-century painting captures the royal reception of King Charles II. The British royal...
Maya M. Tola 3 September 2024
10 Portrait Paintings in Digital Times
Everyone wants to save and share great moments with friends. That’s why we take loads of pictures with our cameras and especially with our...
Michel Rutten 26 April 2024
