African Art

Warrior and Attendants, 16th-17th century, brass, Royal Palace, Benin City, Nigeria, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Warrior and Attendants of Benin

Warrior and Attendants is a masterpiece of Benin art. It encapsulates the beauty of Africa and its people. Black is beautiful. Black is...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

Ramesses II, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, 1279–1254 BCE, granodiorite, Temple of Amun, Karnak Temple Complex, Thebes (Luxor), Egypt, Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ramesses II

The statue of Ramesses II is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian sculpture that proclaims the royal majesty and prowess of Ramesses the...

James W Singer 11 February 2024

African Art

6 Contemporary African Artists You Should Know

The contemporary art scene is booming in Africa. Artists are getting more attention and recognition, taking part in the most prestigious art fairs...

Natalia Tiberio 8 February 2024

African Art

Discover Contemporary African Art with Osei Bonsu

Featuring the groundbreaking works of 50 rising artists, African Art Now: 50 Pioneers Defining African Art for the Twenty-First Century, curated by...

Carlotta Mazzoli 8 February 2024

Lalibela rock-hewn churches cover African Art

Medieval Christian Monoliths: The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia

The highlands of northern Ethiopia contain eleven fascinating and unique churches. The so-called rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were carved directly...

Alexandra Kiely 8 February 2024

Women Artists

Njideka Akunyili Crosby: Celebrating Multicultural Identity

Through her work, Njideka Akunyili Crosby celebrates her cultural heritage and identity as a Nigerian artist living and working in America. By using...

Nina Relf 8 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Fowling in the Marshes

Ancient Egypt. The famous land of Tutankhamun evokes popular images of pyramids, mummies, and tombs. It left an artistic heritage that is still...

James W Singer 3 December 2023

El Anatsui: Behind the Red Moon, Installation View, Tate Modern, London, UK. African Art

5 Things to Know About El Anatsui’s Turbine Hall Commission at Tate Modern

On October 10th, the doors of Tate Modern in London swung open, unveiling a long-awaited exhibition: the annual Turbine Hall Hyundai Commission. The...

Natalia Tiberio 2 November 2023

Broad collar of Senebtisi, ca. 1850–1775 BCE, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. Ancient Egypt

All That Glitters: Gold Jewelry in Ancient Egypt

Personal ornaments were favored by ancient Egyptians from the Predynastic to the late Roman periods, and most of them wore some type of jewelry. The...

Maya M. Tola 9 October 2023

African Art

Art and Culture of the Dogon People of Africa

African art and culture had been a driving inspiration to European modern artists like Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, and Amedeo Modigliani, among...

Urvi Chheda 9 August 2023

Ancient Egypt

Akhenaten: Artistic Development in the Amarna Period

Amenhotep IV, widely recognized as the notorious Akhenaten, was the enigmatic “heretic” pharaoh who ruled during the Eighteenth Dynasty.

Maya M. Tola 20 July 2023

Benin art African Art

Art Treasures from the African Kingdom of Benin

Today we’ll go back in time to the 1500s when the wealth of the Benin Empire (in contemporary Nigeria) was at its peak: when Europeans traded with...

Magda Michalska 25 May 2023