WTF Art History

Art State of Mind

From Spindle and Distaff to Mass Production: Spinning in Art

There are many artistic representations of women spinning, created across time and in various places. Let’s take some of the great depictions for a...

Europeana 10 December 2020

Fashion

Wearing the Message: Changing the World One Outfit at a Time

From the original silk banners worn by the Suffragettes, through to slogan T-shirts, we often quite literally wear our protest message. This...

Candy Bedworth 24 November 2020

Photography

Andrés Marti: Every Experience Generates Roots

According to Goethe, melancholy is a sense of sadness whose causes are unknown. Its symptoms are the only thing you are aware of, that’s why you...

Guest Profile 23 November 2020

Museum Stories

Best 2020 Artsy Christmas Gifts from Art Museums

It is that time of the year again! Time to buy Christmas gifts for everyone you love. And, as always, it’s probably a bit of a challenge to...

Joanna Kaszubowska 23 November 2020

Love Story

Story of Pygmalion and Galatea by Sir Edward Burne-Jones

The story of Pygmalion and Galatea is an enchanting myth about a Cypriot sculptor who fell in love with his own sculpture. He prays to goddess...

Bolor Jargalsaikhan 19 November 2020

Literature

The Art of Ekphrasis: 5 Novels that Deftly Describe Art

Describing works of art is an essential part of art history and even as a research method in itself. And yet, description is also often dismissed as...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 2 November 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

WTF Art History

An Animated Cabinet of Curiosities – The Best Art GIFs

What happens when old paintings, photos, illustrations and posters which are available digitally are shared with digital artists to play with and...

Europeana 26 October 2020

The Art of Law: Legal Drama in Artworks

Courtrooms are associated with a wide range of emotions, from hope to anguish, tension to the mundane. While legal drama has tremendous...

Maya M. Tola 20 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

Women Artists

Roll up, Roll up, for the Greatest Show on Earth! Jeanne Mount and Her Circus Mosaics

Artist Jeanne Mount designed a series of spectacular circus mosaics in 1969 that are as fresh and vibrant today as when they were first displayed on...

Guest Profile 18 October 2020