Magda Michalska

Author

Magda, art historian and Italianist, she writes about art because she cannot make it herself. She loves committed and political artists like Ai Weiwei or the Futurists; like Joseph Beuys she believes that art can change us and we can change the world.

Articles by Magda

Erotica

Male Nudes to Celebrate Men’s Health

Campaigning for raising awareness about prostate cancer, testicular cancer, men’s depression, and suicide is important. Today we are showing you...

Magda Michalska 19 November 2024

male beauty in art: Michelangelo, Ignudo, c. 1512. Erotica

Are You a Connoisseur of Male Beauty? A Nude Invasion!

According to the famous poster by Guerrilla Girls, 85% of nudes in Western art history are of women. They were subject to the male gaze, presented on...

Magda Michalska 19 November 2024

Art State of Mind

Feeling Under the Weather? Art Is the Best Medicine

November is a month of runny noses, sniffing, and coughing (at least in cold parts of Europe…). If you’re lying in bed with a fever, we...

Magda Michalska 18 November 2024

Sculpture

Scandalous Rodin: The History of Balzac’s Monument

One of the greatest French novelists dies. One of the greatest French sculptors is commissioned to raise him a monument. Yet instead of presenting...

Magda Michalska 12 November 2024

Post-Impressionism

The Story of an Excessively Electric Friendship Between Van Gogh and Gauguin

People say that you shouldn’t live with your friends because your friendship may deteriorate. The story of the friendship between Vincent van...

Magda Michalska 11 November 2024

Baroque

Caravaggisti: Fans, Epigons, Masters?

Caravaggio made an impact on painting even during his lifetime. This was probably because he acted in defiance of all the norms of the Catholic...

Magda Michalska 7 November 2024

Design

Architecture or Jewelry? Josef Hoffmann’s Modern Brooches

Josef Hoffmann was the leading architect of the Secession and pupil of Otto Wagner, close friend and collaborator of Gustav Klimt and Koloman Moser,...

Magda Michalska 6 November 2024

Design

Wiener Werkstätte: The Viennese Design Brand You’ve Always Dreamt Of

Heard of Bauhaus? Yes. Heard of De Stijl? Yes. Heard of Wiener Werkstätte? No. No?! That’s the problem: I hadn’t heard of Wiener Werkstätte...

Magda Michalska 6 November 2024

Painting

Snowy Siberian Winter in Konstantin Korovin’s Eyes

If one thinks of winter in Siberia, one usually imagines loads of snow, fur hats, and hip flasks filled with some warming drink. What was winter like...

Magda Michalska 30 October 2024

Dine & Wine

The Scent of Orange in the Air: Paintings with Oranges

What does winter smell like to you? For me, it’s the scent of cinnamon-spiced gingerbread, mulled wine, and of course mandarins. My grandma used to...

Magda Michalska 28 October 2024