#Victorian Era

John Everett Millais, Autumn Leaves, 1855, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, UK. Detail. Painting

An Ode to Autumn with John Everett Millais

Autumn weather can be unpredictable. Some days the earth looks as if cut out of crystal: the sky is a milky blue, and the sunlight is sparkling and...

Hannah Demaine 14 November 2024

JMW Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed, 1844, National Gallery, London, UK. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Rain, Steam and Speed by J. M. W. Turner

J. M, W, Turner’s Rain, Steam, and Speed is a masterpiece of Victorian Romanticism infused with hopes, fears, and reminisces. It catapults the...

James W Singer 10 November 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

WTF Art History

Secrets of Ghost Photography in the 19th Century

Spirit photography, photographs that allegedly show ghosts, have always captured the eye. They are peculiar, bizarre, but above all else horrifying.

Sofia Rodriguez Cuevas 29 October 2024

Art Nouveau

Masterpiece Story: The Climax by Aubrey Beardsley

Aubrey Beardsley’s legacy endures, etched into the contours of the Art Nouveau movement. His distinctive style, marked by grotesque imagery and...

Lisa Scalone 27 October 2024

Love Story

Flaming June or Dorothy Dene? A Muse of Frederic Leighton

In 1879, Frederic Leighton’s biographer and neighbor (that’s handy, isn’t it?), Mrs. Barrington, noticed “a young girl with a lovely white...

Magda Michalska 22 October 2024

Love Story

Masterpiece Story: Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Read the story of Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, one of the key members of the Pre-Raphaelites movement. Discover the fascinating meanings...

Bolor Jargalsaikhan 20 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse

Elaine, the white lady of Shalott, was portrayed in a painting by John William Waterhouse escaping a tower where she was only able to see the world...

Guest Profile 20 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ophelia by John Everett Millais

Here she is, Ophelia from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, gracefully descending into a stream while collecting wildflowers. Overwhelmed by grief...

Zuzanna Stańska 20 October 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Flaming June by Sir Frederic Leighton

We have prepared a story about this truly warm painting that can leave you in flames…  Ladies and Gentlemen, Flaming June by Sir Frederic...

Joanna Kaszubowska 20 October 2024

spirit victorian photography Photography

The Spectacle of Victorian Spirit Photography

Is seeing believing? In 19th-century London, this question captivated everyone who entered Frederick Hudson’s spirit photography studio—from...

Emily Snow 9 October 2024

Jane Morris Love Story

Jane Morris: A Pre-Raphaelite Artist and Muse

Jane Morris (1839-1914) was an English embroiderer and artists’ model who embodied the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of beauty. She was a model and muse to...

Marija Canjuga 26 September 2024