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
#history painting
Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Belley by Girodet
Although representations of Black people were overlooked in European art for a long time, current social and political movements participate to...
Amélie Pascutto 16 February 2025
Masterpiece Story: A Ride for Liberty by Eastman Johnson
The cool morning dew blew against their warm sweaty skin as the horse led them towards the free North. Stories of another life, a free life,...
James W Singer 16 February 2025
Constructing Racism in Western Art – Hans Makart and the Case of Cleopatra
When Netflix cast Black actress Adele James as Cleopatra in a docu-series on the life of the famous Egyptian queen, the world went viral in a heated...
Kero Fichter 10 February 2025
Masterpiece Story: Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps is one of the most famous and politically iconic images of European art history. However, it is a...
James W Singer 26 January 2025
Masterpiece Story: Cleopatra by Alexandre Cabanel
Queen Cleopatra is a popular subject today – as she was in the late 19th century. Alexandre Cabanel’s Cleopatra explores a single moment of her...
James W Singer 26 January 2025
Masterpiece Story: Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze
Throughout history, artists have documented grand historical events motivated by national pride, political propaganda, or as a lesson for...
Rachel Witte 26 January 2025
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
Edgar Degas in 10 Paintings
Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is one of the most famous painters of his generation. His ballerinas are held in many of the world’s most prestigious...
Jimena Escoto 16 December 2024
Who’s the Jester on Lady Gaga’s Harlequin Cover?
Lady Gaga released an exclusive vinyl of her new album Harlequin, and fans quickly pointed out many easter eggs the artist had left on the cover. The...
Sandra Juszczyk 22 November 2024
Masterpiece Story: Zeuxis Selecting Models for Helen of Troy by Angelica Kauffman
We’re all Angelicamad here! To celebrate the history painter extraordinaire Angelica Kauffman, let’s discuss her take on one of antiquity’s...
Gabrielle Stecher 11 November 2024
Masterpiece Story: Leonidas at Thermopylae by Jacques-Louis David
Whether you are within an academic environment or at a coffee shop, when the term “Neoclassicism” and its huge influence on the visual arts...
Erol Degirmenci 13 October 2024
