Curated Stories From Antiquity to Contemporary Art
Old Kingdom Egypt: Facts & Overview
The third dynasty marked the beginning of Old Kingdom Egypt which lasted until roughly the sixth dynasty, from ca. 2686-2181 BC. It was an...
Art In The Bronze Age: History Explained
The term “Bronze Age” was first coined by the Danish Antiquarian Christian Jürgensen Thomsen (1788-1865), as part of the three-age-system. It was used to...
“Without Art Mankind Could Not Exist”: Leo Tolstoy’s Essay What is Art
How can we define art? What is authentic art and what is good art? Leo Tolstoy answered these questions in “What is Art?” (1897),...
Anselm Kiefer: An Artist Who Confronts The Past
Today, you can find full libraries of resources to learn about Hitler's Third Reich and the Holocaust. However, when artist Anselm Kiefer was growing...
Artist’s Homes: Creative Spaces And Art Studios Of Famous Painters
The surroundings of an artist can ultimately become intertwined with their work and legacy. Claude Monet is associated with Giverny, France as Frida Kahlo...
Stolen Art: How Five Masterpieces Vanished
Art theft is a crime so widespread that the International Police maintains a database that records over 50,000 pieces of stolen art. The FBI...
Minerva and Athena: Roman vs. Greek Goddesses of War
The associations between Greek and Roman gods are very well known, from Zeus and Jupiter to Aphrodite and Venus. However, the Graeco-Roman pantheon of...
10 Famous Artists and their Pet Portraits
Inspiration is hard to come by, even for artists. Some turn to nature, some to family, and some (like the artists featured here) to...
11 Things You Didn’t Know About Isis And Osiris
Forget Romeo and Juliet, or even Caesar and Cleopatra. The first tragic love story in history is that of ancient Egyptian gods Isis and...
The Top 30 Art Movements In Western History: Characteristics And Styles
Western art history has undergone a plethora of changes, resulting in an extremely diverse range of techniques, styles, and mediums. Art has long reflected...
Classical Greece: The Golden Era (ca. 480–323 B.C.)
The Classical Period in ancient Greece produced outstanding cultural and scientific achievements. The city of Athens introduced to the world a direct Democracy political...
How Clement Greenberg Shaped Modernist Art
Renowned art critic Clement Greenberg was one of the most influential and respected voices of the 20th century. Known today as the “voice of...
Alexander The Great: 9 Things That Make Him The G.O.A.T.
Most people have heard of Alexander of Macedonia, the young Greek warlord who became king at the age of twenty and had conquered the...
JMW Turner’s Paintings That Defy Preservation
Joseph Mallord William Turner, or JMW Turner, was born into a lower-middle-class family in London in 1775. He is known for his oil paintings...