European Art

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip, Cat at Play, ca 1860-78, oil on wood panel, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Cat at Play by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip

Cat at Play is a masterpiece by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip who deserves to have her legacy revised and her fame revived. Art does not need to be radical...

James W Singer 7 July 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Breakfast of Birds by Gabriele Münter

Gabriele Münter (1877–1962) was a German Expressionist painter born in Berlin and most known for her landscapes and use of color. She developed a...

Heidi Werber 7 July 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat by John Weguelin

Here is a Masterpiece Story to honor our beloved cats. The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat by John Weguelin presents an imaginative interpretation of an...

Alexandra Kiely 7 July 2024

Gerrit Dou, Dog at Rest, 1650, oil on oak panel, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Dog at Rest by Gerrit Dou

Gerrit Dou’s Dog at Rest is a masterpiece of Dutch genre painting, perfect for both dog enthusiasts and art...

James W Singer 7 July 2024

Artist Stories

Artemisia Gentileschi: The Rape Survivor and Her Revenge

Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the best Italian Baroque painters. This strong woman painted plenty of paintings of strong and suffering women from...

Zuzanna Stańska 5 July 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: An Allegory with Venus and Cupid by Agnolo Bronzino

An Allegory with Venus and Cupid by Agnolo Bronzino from the National Gallery in London is one of the most mysterious masterpieces of Mannerism. It...

Joanna Kaszubowska 5 July 2024

Giotto Meeting at the Golden Gate Love Story

The First Kiss in Art History

It was back in the year 1305 when Giotto di Bondone painted a fresco capturing the moment when Virgin Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne, kissed...

Petra Dragasevic 5 July 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Cupid and Psyche by Antonio Canova

A true gem of virtuosity, Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss is a marble sculpture made between 1787 and 1793 by Antonio Canova. The sculptor portrayed...

Montaine Dumont 5 July 2024

Liberty Leading the People Romanticism

Liberty Leading the People: Delacroix, French Revolution, and Coldplay

Liberty Leading the People is probably the best-known artwork of one of the greatest artists of French Romanticism Eugène Delacroix. The painting,...

Rute Ferreira 3 July 2024

Art History 101

Orientalism – Quick Explanation

19th-century Europeans were fascinated by the Near East and North Africa. Everything began roughly around the time of the Napoleonic invasion of...

Magda Michalska 3 July 2024

Romanticism

Eugène Delacroix in 10 Paintings: Poetry, Passion, and Power

Early 19th-century French art was a battle between cool, crisp, precisely observed Neoclassicism and Romanticism’s passion for emotion, drama,...

Catriona Miller 3 July 2024

Romanticism

The Orientalism of Eugène Delacroix – Beware of the Colors!

Eugène Delacroix was a French artist who was seen as the leader of the French Romantic school of art from the beginning of his career. 19th-century...

Zuzanna Stańska 3 July 2024