Baroque

Jacob Peter Gowy, The Fall of Icarus, 1635-1637, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. Detail. Baroque

The Fall of Icarus: Drama in Baroque Painting

Imagine you’re standing in front of a painting that tells the tragic story of Icarus falling from the sky. The artist’s task was not only...

Lana Pajdas 11 March 2023

News

Vermeer As You’ve Never Seen Before at the Rijksmuseum

This year we have a chance to witness the largest Vermeer exhibition to ever be held. From 10 February to 4 June 2023,  the Rijksmuseum is...

Nicole Ganbold 2 March 2023

Johannes Vermeer, A Girl Asleep, 1656–1657, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Baroque

Vermeer’s Desperate Housewives

Johannes Vermeer was a master of ambiguity. His silent and calm interiors, and beautiful Dutch women, although innocent at first glance, seem to be...

Magda Michalska 2 March 2023

Museum Stories

Artemisia (Literally) Unveiled: A Unique Chance to Encounter Artemisia Gentileschi in Florence

Until April 2023, the Casa Buonarroti Museum in Florence will host the restoration of Artemisia Gentileschi’s Allegory of Inclination. This is a...

Carlotta Mazzoli 31 January 2023

Cornelis Saftleven, Who Sues for a Cow?, 1629, oil on wood panel, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Who Sues for a Cow by Cornelis Saftleven

Who Sues for a Cow is a masterpiece of social commentary by now-forgotten artist, Cornelis Saftleven. It is a strange painting from the Dutch Golden...

James W Singer 16 January 2023

Animals

Holy Cow! Why Did the Dutch Painters Love Cows?

Every time I look at 17th-century Dutch paintings, I ask myself the same question: why do they always show cows? You will probably think this is a...

Magda Michalska 13 January 2023

Mary Beale. Mary Beale, Self-portrait, c. 1670, Moyses Hall Museum, Bury St Edmunds, London, UK. Women Artists

Mary Beale – England’s First Professional Female Artist

Mary Beale was a Baroque painter from the 17th century. Her talent led her to become the first professional British female artist. Luckily, she...

Jimena Escoto 8 January 2023

Women Artists

5 Things You Should Know About Michaelina Wautier

Michaelina Wautier was born in Mons in 1604. This Flemish painter has been absent in art history for many years, but her life and work are slowly...

Vithória Konzen Dill 8 January 2023

Echave Ibía. Baltasar de Echave Ibía, The Inmaculate Conception (detail), 1620, Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City, Mexico. Artist Stories

Baltasar de Echave Ibía and Masterpieces in Blue

Baltasar de Echave Ibía was a renowned Novohispanic painter from the 17th century. In fact, he belonged to an artistic dynasty. Yet, he managed to...

Jimena Escoto 23 August 2022

Frans Post, View of Olinda, Brazil, 1662, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands Baroque

Frans Post, First Landscape Painter of the Americas

Frans Post has gone down in art history as the first trained landscape painter to work in the Americas. In 1636, as a young man of just 24, he...

Nicole Ganbold 27 December 2021

Museum Stories

The Great Art Robbery… Foiled

Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing the Rembrandt’s Light exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Sadly, on Thursday, 14th November...

Joanna Kaszubowska 23 October 2021

Baroque

Pure Happiness, Fun, and Joy in Jan Steen’s Paintings

I am a true happiness digger and I’m looking for happiness also in art. If you are a frequent reader here, you may have seen our other articles...

Rute Ferreira 16 July 2021