I am an art historian working as an IT Sales Manager. Currently, I am a master's student at the Center of Excellence in Image Studies researching Dutch and Flemish Renaissance Art. I love traveling, visiting museums and exhibitions. Together with my daughter, I live in Bucharest, Romania
Biggest Art Heists in History
Movies on thefts and art heists are making huge box office hits for their great action and wit. However, even if real art heists have been sometimes...
Irina Diana Calu 18 November 2024
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
Dutch Still Life Explained in 6 Famous Painters
In the art world, it is commonly agreed upon that still life painting as a genre rose in the Netherlands in the last quarter of the 16th century. The...
Irina Diana Calu 11 October 2024
Lapis Lazuli—A Pigment More Precious Than Gold
Lapis lazuli, once more precious than gold, has a history of over 9000 years. The earliest artifacts found at Bhirrana, which is the oldest site of...
Irina Diana Calu 30 September 2024
Rothko: Eternal Symbols of Life
When you say Rothko, you think of large paintings of colorful rectangular form with frayed edges, horizontal, sometimes vertical as well, floating on...
Irina Diana Calu 25 September 2024
A Dutch Mystery: Jacobus Vrel
Jacobus Vrel is a ghostly figure in art history because, up to this moment, there is almost no official data about him. No record of his existence...
Irina Diana Calu 27 May 2024
Everything You Should Know About Islamic Art
Bright colorful mosaics, stunning arches, amazing constructions in the middle of the desert, beautifully ornate calligraphy, incredible rock crystal...
Irina Diana Calu 10 April 2024
How Japanese Woodcuts Were Made
Hokusai’s Great Wave from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji and Hiroshige’s The Plum Garden in Kameido from One Hundred Famous Views of...
Irina Diana Calu 25 March 2024
Osman Hamdi: The First and Last Ottoman Orientalist
The first and last Orientalist painter of the Ottoman Empire is Osman Hamdi Bey. Born in modern-day Turkey, educated in Paris, and highly regarded as...
Irina Diana Calu 11 December 2023
Must-See Exhibitions: 5 Top Cities to Visit in Summer 2021
The summer is here already, and many countries are lifting their Covid restrictions. Apart from vacations, I am sure that all art lovers out there...
Irina Diana Calu 24 June 2021
