Painting

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Last of England by Ford Madox Brown

Ford Madox Brown explores the psychological and emotional hardships faced by emigrants in The Last of England. Let us explore a Brown masterpiece.

James W Singer 18 August 2024

Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait (detail), 1434, The National Gallery, London, England. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck

The Arnolfini Portrait is as enigmatic as it is iconic. Painted by Jan van Eyck in 1434, it spawns a lot of speculation – over half a millennium...

Vithória Konzen Dill 18 August 2024

Pablo Picasso, Lovers, 1923, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Lovers by Pablo Picasso

The Lovers by Pablo Picasso explores the dynamics of courtship. It returns to an earlier painting tradition and invents a new interpretation.

James W Singer 18 August 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: American Gothic by Grant Wood

Under the blue sky of Iowa, a man and a woman stand solemnly in front of their house. They are farmers, as suggested by their clothing and the...

Anastasia Manioudaki 18 August 2024

Art of Athena Ancient Greece

Athena in Art: The Beautiful Warrior Goddess

Athena, the revered Greek goddess of wisdom, war and the arts, has captivated the imagination of artists for centuries. Her image, from ancient...

Jimena Aullet 15 August 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Madonna by Edvard Munch

The Norwegian painter Edvard Munch realized the colored lithograph Madonna in 1895. He is considered the precursor of Expressionism, therefore his...

Maia Heguiaphal 15 August 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Madonna of Port Lligat by Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí’s The Madonna of Port Lligat is an image of Mary holding baby Jesus in her lap. Seems simple, but it has layers upon layers of...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 15 August 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ocean Breezes by Edward Henry Potthast

This seems to be the perfect painting depicting a nice memory of a summer vacation. It is titled Ocean Breezes and was painted by Edward Henry...

Alexandra Kiely 14 August 2024

Art Travels

Seven Luminist Seascapes to Make You Want a Beach Vacation

If you still plan your summer vacations and a trip to the lake or the ocean isn’t on your schedule here are a few Luminist artworks that might...

Alexandra Kiely 13 August 2024

Joaquín Sorolla, Playing at the Beach, 1915, private collection. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Detail. Artist Stories

Joaquín Sorolla: The Luminosity of the Mediterranean

If you love summer light, long vacation days, walking on the beach, and lying on the sand with a good book in your hand, these paintings by Joaquín...

Andra Patricia Ritisan 13 August 2024

Painting

Best Seascapes in Art History

The sea has a mind of its own. Whether it is stormy or calm, a man knows that it is to be respected. In art, the seascape, as it is called, is a...

Anastasia Manioudaki 13 August 2024

Romanticism

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 13 August 2024