Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Roses of Heliogabalus by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth. Three of the Seven Deadly Sins are depicted in Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s The Roses of Heliogabalus. Many other sins are...

James W Singer 22 December 2024

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, 1876, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette is a masterpiece of French Impressionism and a celebration of happiness and...

James W Singer 22 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: A Glass Compote with Peaches, Jasmine Flowers, Quinces and a Grasshopper by Fede Galizia

Fede Galizia’s beautiful A Glass Compote with Peaches, Jasmine Flowers, Quinces and a Grasshopper is one of Italy’s first-ever still life...

Alexandra Kiely 22 December 2024

manet bar at the folies bergere Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Édouard Manet

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère is considered Édouard Manet’s last major painting. Presented in the Paris Salon of 1882, just a year before the...

Anastasia Manioudaki 22 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Still Life with a Golden Goblet by Pieter de Ring

Why is food such a popular image for art and culture? For millennia it has been a source of inspiration from ancient Roman mosaics through Dutch...

James W Singer 22 December 2024

Impressionists, Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1906 Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Water Lilies by Claude Monet

Water Lilies is a masterpiece of Impressionism. It blends the artist’s objective world and subjective...

James W Singer 17 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Two Shades of Love in Vermeer’s Paintings

Many of the paintings by Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675) focus on the theme of love. Some of them involve music, letters, or a glass of wine,...

Tom Anderson 16 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Rooftops in the Snow by Gustave Caillebotte

You open your eyes to the early morning light filtering through your windows. You instantly feel the cold air of the bedroom as you see your warm...

James W Singer 15 December 2024

Frederic Edwin Church aurora borealis: Frederic Edwin Church, Aurora Borealis, 1865, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Aurora Borealis by Frederic Edwin Church

Aurora Borealis is an American national treasure. It explores the relationship between the land, its viewer, and its destiny. It is a masterpiece of...

James W Singer 15 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Breakfast of Birds by Gabriele Münter

Gabriele Münter (1877–1962) was a German Expressionist painter born in Berlin and most known for her landscapes and use of color. She developed a...

Heidi Werber 15 December 2024

Claude Monet, Magpie, 1868-69, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Magpie by Claude Monet

Magpie is a masterpiece by Claude Monet that captures the poetic play of light upon a winter landscape. It is a symphony of ivory and...

James W Singer 15 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Snowy Landscape (Deep Winter) by Cuno Amiet

These are the shortest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s dark and cold outside, but there are two things that brighten the night...

Kate Wojtczak 15 December 2024