Bizarre

Bizarre

Wild Women of the Waves – Art of Ships Figureheads

A figurehead is a carved and painted figure ornamenting the bow of a ship (that’s the front to us landlubbers!). For thousands of years, people...

Candy Bedworth 26 August 2022

Contemporary Art

Maurizio Cattelan and His Obsession with Pigeons

It was at the Venice Biennale in 1997 when Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan displayed 2000 stuffed pigeons installed at the top of the air...

Zuzanna Stańska 16 July 2022

Painting

Murder on Canvas: How Artists Portrayed the Ultimate Taboo

To quote the novelist Aldous Huxley “It takes two to make a murder. There are born victims, born to have their throats cut, as the cut-throats...

Wendy Gray 4 July 2022

Art History 101

Hags and Slags? A History of Witchcraft in Art

Hold on to your broomstick as we fly through time to check out the delicious and diabolical witch in art history.

Candy Bedworth 31 May 2022

WTF Art History

That’s My Color! Famous Painters’ Trademark Colors

Did you know that there are some colors that you can’t use in your art? Such “painters’ trademarked colors” are owned by certain artists, and...

Wojtek Rozdzenski 22 January 2022

Animals

Famous Lobsters in Art

Lobsters, large marine crustaceans, have been eaten by humans since prehistoric times. They became a delicacy by the Roman period. They were also...

Zuzanna Stańska 7 April 2021

Bizarre

A Hero and Mythical Creatures: Famous Spiders in Art

Spiders disturb the majority of the people. Even though they are much smaller, and thus much less powerful than us, we cannot help but fear their...

Belkıs Pesen 6 April 2021

A Controversial Christmas Tree in Venice

Weighing 9 tonnes, 10 metres tall, the 2020 Christmas Tree of Venice had become a scandal before it was lit up last week. Why? Because it’s not...

Magda Michalska 22 December 2020

Creepy Art History: Bugs and Critters Hiding in Paintings

Creepy-crawlies: bugs, lizards, and insects. You either love them or hate them. But one place you may have thought they wouldn’t appear is in...

Kristin Urban 31 October 2020

Women Artists

The Art of Mia Makila: 13 Important Questions

Viewing the art of Mia Makila is like walking into a labyrinthine psyche masquerading as a shop. You open the door, the bell rings, and you realise...

Sarah Mills 30 October 2020

Museum Stories

Two Men, Police Uniforms, and Some Duct Tape: The Biggest Art Heist in History After 30 Years of Active Investigations

Two men, police uniforms and some duct tape; this is how Rick Abath and Randy Hestand, security men at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston,...

Ruxi Rusu 19 October 2020

Art State of Mind

Artists and Their Myths

Sometimes, the story that is attached to an artist is as important as their craft. Let’s take a look at artists and the myths that are related to...

Noa Weisberg 7 September 2020