Works of art

There are works of art that are unforgettable, not because they are the most famous or spectacular, but because they manage to say everything in a gesture, a glance, a small but significant scene from everyday life. Caravaggio’s “La Buona Ventura” is one such work, and I would like to take you with me to […]

If you have ever taken a photo while moving and ended up with a blurred trail, you may have unwittingly captured the essence of an entire artistic revolution. It was precisely there, in that simple, everyday gesture, that Giacomo Balla found the inspiration for one of the most striking paintings of Futurism: “Dynamism of a […]

The history of art is made up of enigmas and mysteries.There are works of art of inestimable value and beauty that, due to the vicissitudes of history, have disappeared without a trace. These masterpieces, once admired and celebrated, have become legends, and their absence is as powerful a reminder as the presence of works that […]

Have you ever wondered what secrets lie behind Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ, one of the most intense and emotionally charged works of Baroque art? Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, who was born in Milan in 1571 and died in Porto Ercole in 1610, is known for his ability to capture humanity and spirituality in his […]

THE ENTOMBMENT OF CHRIST BY CARAVAGGIO: ANALYSIS AND CURIOUS FACTS Caravaggio was said to be a tormented artist who painted works destined to be both admired and criticized at the same time. But not everyone knows that the Entombment of Christ was the only painting that was met with general approval. In this post you’ll […]

THE DEATH OF MARAT BY DAVID: ANALYSIS AND CURIOUS FACTS On July 13th 1793 the news of the death of Marat, a protagonist of the French Revolution, shocked France. Marat was stabbed to death and his murderer, Charlotte Corday, four days after the assassination and after a summary trial, was executed by guillotine. In this post you’ll […]

POLLARD WILLOWS AT SUNSET BY VAN GOGH: DESCRIPTION AND CURIOUS FACTS When I look at Pollard Willows at Sunset by van Gogh there’s a words that immediately comes to my mind: emotion. If I look at brushstrokes and lines drawn by van Gogh with colour I feel his emotion while admiring this Provençal landscape. I can […]

DEGAS’S ABSINTHE: ANALISYS AND CURIOUS FACTS Once someone asked me what’s beautiful and charming about Degas’s Absinthe. Actually, it’s a painting that doesn’t make you happy; rather, to me, has always had a subheading: “depression”. No, Degas’s Abisinthe is not beautiful, it’s amazing. It’s a painting depicting with photographic accuracy a scene that anyone who was […]

PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN A RED TURBAN BY VAN EYCK: DESCRIPTION AND CURIOUS FACTS Who is the man in the painting Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban by van Eyck and why is he wearing a red turban? This painting is shrouded in mystery, like other van Eyck’s works and all his life. According to […]

A BAR AT THE FOLIES-BERGÈRE BY MANET: DESCRIPTION, ANALYSIS AND CURIOUS FACTS What is the barmaid depicted in the painting A bar at the Folies-Bergère by Manet thinking about and what is she really looking at in front of her? Questions that I often ask myself when looking at the last great masterpiece by Manet. A […]

WOMEN IN THE GARDEN BY MONET: DESCRIPTION AND ANALYIS OF A MASTERPIECE Why is Women in the Garden by Monet a masterpiece? It’s one of the first examples of plein air painting, a new technique in the art scene of the second half of the 19th century, which is at the base of Impressionist revolution. The painting […]

THE ALLEGORY OF PAINTING BY VERMEER: DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS Do you know The Allegory of Painting by Vermeer ? The artist never parted with this work and his wife didn’t succeed in keeping it with her. The reasons are not clear, but it’s possible to formulate some hypotheses and hold this painting as a heirloom. I had […]

REST ON THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT BY CARAVAGGIO When was the painting Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Caravaggio made and who commissioned it? It’s certainly one of my favourite works by Michelangelo Merisi and I think that you should admire it at least once in your lifetime, because it’s one of the greatest art masterpieces. In […]

MAGDALENE WITH THE SMOKING FLAME BY GEORGES DE LA TOUR: MEANING AND WHERE TO SEE IT What is the secret that makes Magdalene with the Smoking Flame by Georges de La Tour a charming painting? Certainly the light but also the enveloping darkness, peculiar features of Georges de La Tour’s painting made up of characters lit […]

MADONNA OF THE CHAIR BY RAPHAEL: CURIOUS FACTS AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PAINTING In the Madonna of the Chair Raphael describes one of the most delicate and tender scenes of all his artistic production. It seems that this painting emanates an infinite tenderness that I could hardly resist when I was in front of it and I exchanged […]

ECSTASY OF SAINT TERESA BY BERNINI: 5 THINGS TO KNOW The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini, also known as “Transverberation of Saint Teresa”, is the work than more than others describes the religiousness of the 17th century, made up of mystical experiences which involve both spirit and body. In this post I’ll talk about the […]

THE VAULT OF THE CHURCH OF SAINT IGNATIUS IN ROME AND THE TRIUMPH OF ILLUSIONISTIC PAINTING: 5 THINGS TO KNOW In 1685 Andrea Pozzo, an artist and Jesuit scholar, was commissioned to decorate the vault of the Church of Saint Ignatius in Rome. His optical illusion effects give birth to a decoration that still today […]

THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH CANON VAN DER PAELE BY VAN EYCK: 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT A MASTERPIECE The Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele is one of the largest and most famous masterpieces by Jan van Eyck. In terms of size it is second only to the Adoration of the Mystic […]

APOLLO AND DAPHNE BY GIAN LORENZO BERNINI: 5 THINGS TO KNOW How many times have you looked Apollo and Daphne by Bernini for endless minutes? It often happens to me, and when I stayed before this amazing sculpture I couldn’t help but turn around it to observe it from all angles! In this post I encourage […]

MICHELANGELO’ S PIETÀ: 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE VATICAN PIETÀ If I think of Saint Peter’s Basilica, the first work of art that comes to my mind is Michelangelo’s Pietà. What about you? It is impossible for you to enter St. Peter’s Basilica and not to notice one of Michelangelo’s masterpieces, the most poetic […]