Literature

Romanticism

The Poetry in Painting—Turner’s Ovid in Exile

This petite (9.5 x 12.5 cm, 3 3/4 x 4 in.) oil on canvas by J. M. W. Turner contains big things: big landscapes, big stories and big skies. It is an...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 18 December 2024

Harry Clarke, Its Figures Passed By Me from Edgar Allan Poe, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, George G. Harrap and Co., London, 1919. Public Domain Review. Detail. Literature

Beautiful and Scary: Illustrations for Poe’s Horror Stories by Harry Clarke

Harry Clarke was an Irish stained glass artist and book illustrator. He made notable works in both fields but somehow his stained glass works are a...

Marija Canjuga 31 October 2024

Quiz

How Well Do You Know Shakespeare? A Short Quiz with Henry Fuseli Paintings

Kate Wojtczak, Magda Michalska 26 October 2024

Review

Muse: Uncovering the Hidden Figures in Art History

Muse – Uncovering the Hidden Figures Behind Art History’s Masterpieces by Ruth Millington is a fascinating book that aims, and one could even...

Aniela Rybak-Vaganay 22 October 2024

Artist Stories

Between Word and Image: The Creative Mind of David Jones

David Jones (1895–1974) was an artist, poet, writer and craftsman; a name synonymous with the Modernist era but one that still remains lesser known...

Guest Profile 21 October 2024

Art State of Mind

Tableaux Vivants: A Long History of Recreating Art

A fanciful costume, a theatrical pose, the right light… and for a few seconds the viewer is immersed in a “living picture.” You have probably...

Guest Profile 9 October 2024

Review

How the History of Beauty Made Me Furious and Why—All the Rage by Virginia Nicholson

When did you last read a book that made you angry but still wanted to read on? What is a no-legs woman? Are pockets political? Might tanning be...

Kate Wojtczak 7 October 2024

Animals

The Goldfinch: Singing Across Time

See the lonely little bird, trapped in a situation over which it has no control. Chained, isolated. Sounds familiar? In these strange times we need...

Candy Bedworth 4 October 2024

Review

Nothing Ever Just Disappears: A Queer Sense of Place

How does the place where art was created impact the work itself? And, in turn, can art influence how we view those very places? Diarmuid Hester...

Jenna Burns 6 September 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: King Lear Weeping over the Dead Body of Cordelia by James Barry

King Lear by William Shakespeare is a great tragedy that centers around ideas such as loyalty, familial bonds, and remorse. The painter of this work,...

Merve Parla 28 July 2024

Love Story

Wonderful Paintings Inspired by Famous Literary Couples

Art and literature have been a thing for centuries and they’re still at it. We have plucked a few worthy fruits of their union to show you how...

Giordana Goretti 22 July 2024

Eugène Delacroix, The Barque of Dante, 1822, The Louvre, Paris, France Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Barque of Dante by Eugène Delacroix

Welcome to Hell—tonight, our guide will be Virgil, Dante, and of course Eugène Delacroix. The Barque of Dante, the first major painting by French...

Anastasia Manioudaki 3 July 2024