A Beginner’s Guide to Icons in Eastern Christianity
Icons are among the oldest image traditions, yet they often remain misunderstood, especially in the West. They belong to a visual culture that...
Catherine Razafindralambo 27 April 2026
#Russia
Masterpiece Story: The Railway Station by Alf Rolfsen
Steam, breath, and sweat combine into a pulsating cloud filling the railway station with energy and anticipation. Everyone is in motion either...
James W Singer 12 April 2026
Unhappily Ever After: Unequal Marriage by Vasili Pukirev
Vasili Pukirev’s painting, Unequal Marriage, has a legend surrounding it. Allegedly, after looking at it all the elderly grooms refused to marry...
Elizaveta Ermakova 22 March 2026
Masterpiece Story: The Major’s Marriage Proposal by Pavel Fedotov
When you think of 19th-century Russia, images of Anna Karenina with black furs and white diamonds may come to mind. The lives of the wealthy...
James W Singer 22 March 2026
Somewhere at Sea—Ivan Aivazovsky and His Marine Art
Many artists painted the sea, but only Ivan Aivazovsky was completely devoted to it. Over his long life (1817–1900), he dedicated thousands of...
Elizaveta Ermakova 3 March 2026
Snowy Siberian Winter in Konstantin Korovin’s Eyes
If one thinks of winter in Siberia, one usually imagines loads of snow, fur hats, and hip flasks filled with some warming drink. What was winter like...
Magda Michalska 15 January 2026
An Avant-Garde Love Story: Goncharova and Larionov’s Romance
At the dawn of the modern avant-garde, two uncompromising young artists, Natalia Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov, found in each other both a lifelong...
Magda Michalska 10 December 2025
Together Apart: Kandinsky and Malevich’s Paths to Abstraction
Though Kandinsky and Malevich came from different backgrounds, their paths converged in shaping the Russian avant-garde. Each developed a radically...
Catherine Razafindralambo 6 November 2025
What Inspired Kandinsky? Nature, Spirituality and Other Artists
Wassily Kandinsky – a lawyer turned painter, a painter turned lecturer, a green-fingered man for whom a house with a garden was a curse (as he...
Magda Michalska 16 October 2025
Masterpiece Story: Harmony in Red by Henri Matisse
Sergei Shchukin once said “If a picture gives you a psychological shock, buy it. It’s a good one.” And the Matisse painting I would like to...
Zuzanna Stańska 28 September 2025
The Art of Jewels: Spinel, The Ruby Impersonator
The spinel, also known as the balas ruby, was first derived from the historic region of Badakshan in Central Asia. These beautiful gemstones usually...
Maya M. Tola 16 September 2025
The Art and Spirituality of Nicholas Roerich
Nicholas Roerich, a prominent member of the early 20th-century art world, was distinguished by his unique artistic style and profound spiritual...
Maya M. Tola 15 September 2025
