Artists and Movements

ANNUNCIATION BY LEONARDO: ANALYSIS AND CURIOUS FACTS To Leonardo painting is a mental act, a way to understand reality and nature. In Annunciation by Leonardo, painted when the artist was probably in his early twenties, you can already see its interest in nature and curiosity about phenomena of the world that Renaissance man was trying to […]

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 […]

DEGAS’S MOST BEAUTIFUL WORKS YOU SHOULD KNOW AND WHERE TO ADMIRE THEM A post dedicated to Degas’s most beautiful works and where to find them. Degas was basically a solitary artist. He had a difficult character, he was introverted, and his life was completely devoted to art. He is famous for the dancers he depicted in […]

MONET’S WORKS: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ONES AND WHERE TO ADMIRE THEM Monet’s works and masterpieces you should know to understand the master of Impressionism. Monet was the artist of Impressionism and of the “plein air” painting: his studio was flowery  meadows, sunny landscapes, and his home garden.He studied for years reflections on the water, lights […]

The theme of the Pietà has been depicted by many artists, but one has always impressed me in a particular way, the Pietà by Titian. It’s a painting executed by the great Venetian artist who, as required, depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Christ. However, in the work appear other figures, among […]

BIOGRAPHY OF VERMEER: 5 THINGS TO KNOW A biography of Vermeer in five points, to learn the life and works of the artist, understand better his style and why he was rediscovered only at the end of the 19th century. Are you ready to learn everything about Vermeer? Biography of Vermeer: 5 things to know

LIFE AND WORKS OF CATHARINA VAN HEMESSEN, A FLEMISH FEMALE PAINTER Catharina van Hemessen is the first Flemish female painter whose life and works are known. Her story and works, together with those of many other female artists, make us rewrite a piece of art history where women played an important role, not only as muses […]

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 […]

AN ITINERARY IN THE NETHERLANDS FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF REMBRANDT: WHERE TO FIND HIS WORKS A post dedicated to the major artist of the Dutch Golden Age with an itinerary in the Netherlands in the footsteps of Rembrandt. Where to find his works and which are those you shouldn’t miss if you visit the Netherlands? […]

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 […]

VERMEER’S WORKS: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PAINTINGS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Vermeer’s works to see to know the exponent of a painting based on the depiction of scenes of ordinary life. Only very few works by Johannes Vermeer have survived. It’s said that they are only 36 and most depict domestic interiors with people doing ordinary […]

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 […]

THE MARRIAGE OF THE VIRGIN BY RAPHAEL: ANALYSIS AND MEANING What is the meaning of The Marriage of the Virgin by Raphael and why is it important to know it? This painting marks the final part of Raphael’s early period and the beginning of his artistic maturity. Here is what you need to know Analysis and meaning of […]

THE ARNOLFINI PORTRAIT: CURIOUS FACTS, DESCRIPTION AND WHERE TO ADMIRE THE PAINTING What story and what mysteries are hidden in the Arnolfini Portrait? It’s one of Jan van Eyck’s masterpieces, and it’s certainly one of my favourite, because it’s extremely complex and full of symbolic meanings. I might spend hours looking at it! In this […]

LA VELATA BY RAPHAEL: WHO THE WOMAN LOVED BY RAPHAEL WAS AND WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE PAINTING Who was the Velata by Raphael and why did he portray her? Is it true that she was the woman loved by the artist? There are many theories about the identity of the Velata by Raphael but only one […]

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 […]

LA FORNARINA BY RAPHAEL: WHO SHE WAS AND WHERE TO ADMIRE THE PAINTING Which story does la Fornarina by Raphael tell and who is the young woman made immortal by this painting? Stories of any kind have circulated about this painting and for this reason this work has become legendary. We don’t know almost anything […]

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 […]