The Sun King’s Reflection: Portraits of Louis XIV
Louis XIV was definitely a great arts patron but sadly a slightly less great king. However, that didn’t stop him from being self-indulging,...
Magda Michalska 17 February 2025
Baroque
Masterpiece Story: Allegorical Painting of Two Ladies
Allegorical Painting of Two Ladies is an enigmatic and highly unusual imaginative portrait made in 1650s England. It reveals a fascinating story...
Nicole Ganbold 16 February 2025
Masterpiece Story: The African King Caspar by Hendrik Heerschop
White subjects have dominated the Western art tradition for millennia, while people of color have been vastly underrepresented and misrepresented.
James W Singer 16 February 2025
QUIZ: 8 Fun Things to Know about Vermeer’s View of Delft
Tom Anderson 15 February 2025
Holy Cow! Why Did the Dutch Painters Love Cows?
Every time I look at 17th-century Dutch paintings, I ask myself the same question: why do they always show cows? You will probably think this is a...
Magda Michalska 12 February 2025
Maria Sibylla Merian—An Artist Who Changed Science Forever
In the 17th century, it has been widely believed that insects were just spontaneously born of mud, dirt, or rotting flesh, but that notion has been...
Nicole Ganbold 11 February 2025
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Scholar, Feminist, Revolutionary
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a 17th-century nun and the first published feminist poet of the New World. Her written works display her sense of wit...
Natalia Iacobelli 11 February 2025
Johannes Vermeer in 10 Paintings
Johannes Vermeer was one of the masters of the Dutch Golden Age. He was born in Delft, Netherlands, in 1632 and died there at age 43, apparently...
Tom Anderson 6 February 2025
Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola by Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish painter born in Antwerp (then Spanish Netherlands, now Belgium) in 1599 and passed away in London in 1641. From 1621...
Soledad Castillo Jara 3 February 2025
5 Caravaggisti You Need to Know
Caravaggio left an indelible mark on many artists who came after him, as well as his own contemporaries. With its unique use of light and the focus...
Edoardo Cesarino 20 January 2025
Nine Reasons to Smile with Frans Hals’ Portraits
Frans Hals (c. 1582–1666) was one of the Dutch Golden Age painters. Born in Antwerp, he spent his entire adult life in Haarlem. Hals is most famous...
Joanna Kaszubowska 20 January 2025
Pure Happiness, Fun, and Joy in Jan Steen’s Paintings
I am a true happiness digger and I’m looking for happiness also in art. If you are a frequent reader here, you may have seen our other articles...
Rute Ferreira 20 January 2025
