Masterpiece Stories

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, 1647-1652, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Roma, Italia. Masterpiece Stories

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Divine Bliss or Pure Erotic Pleasure?

Among the works of the famous sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680), the sculptural group called Ecstasy of Saint Teresa remains...

Montaine Dumont 24 October 2024

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, The Rape of Proserpina Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Rape of Proserpina by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Sail into the world of antiquity through the eyes of the Baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. In the Borghese Gallery in Rome, you can find Rape of...

Ana Djoric 24 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Children Eating Grapes and a Melon by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Children Eating Grapes and a Melon, currently located in the Alte Pinakothek, is one of the most famous paintings by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. This...

Vithória Konzen Dill 23 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Pieter Bruegel’s Children’s Games Explained

Children’s Games is one of Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s most famous paintings. Just like in other works of his, it is debatable whether it was just...

Irina Diana Calu 23 October 2024

Wang Ximeng, One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, Song dynasty, 1113, ink and color on silk scroll, Palace Museum, Beijing, China. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains by Wang Ximeng

Wang Ximeng’s One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is a masterpiece of the Northern Song dynasty and of the larger history of traditional...

James W Singer 21 October 2024

manet monet quiz Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Luncheon on the Grass by Édouard Manet

Édouard Manet’s The Luncheon on the Grass (Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe) (1863) was one of the first works that broke away from established...

Catriona Miller 21 October 2024

Utagawa Hiroshige, Wind-tossed Waves at Seven-Mile Beach in Sagami Province, View No. 13 from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, 1852, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji by Hiroshige

Hokusai and his Wave have practically become symbols of Japan. It was first published in 1831 as a part of a larger series focusing on Mount Fuji, or...

Ledys Chemin 21 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Travelers Among Mountains and Streams by Fan Kuan

The Song dynasty ruled China for over three centuries from 960 to 1279. At this time, Song China was the most technologically advanced society in the...

James W Singer 21 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse

Elaine, the white lady of Shalott, was portrayed in a painting by John William Waterhouse escaping a tower where she was only able to see the world...

Guest Profile 20 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ophelia by John Everett Millais

Here she is, Ophelia from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, gracefully descending into a stream while collecting wildflowers. Overwhelmed by grief...

Zuzanna Stańska 20 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Flaming June by Sir Frederic Leighton

We have prepared a story about this truly warm painting that can leave you in flames…  Ladies and Gentlemen, Flaming June by Sir Frederic...

Joanna Kaszubowska 20 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Miranda by John William Waterhouse

The subject of this eerie painting by John William Waterhouse is Miranda, a character from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. She was detained on...

Guest Profile 20 October 2024