Artists and Movements

VASILIJ KANDINSKIJ LIFE AND WORKS: 5 THINGS TO KNOW Knowing Vasily Kandinsky’s life and works means understanding a fundamental moment in the history of European art. Kandinsky is, in fact, the father of abstract painting, an artistic movement that emerged in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century and changed the figurative arts forever. […]

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 […]

DEPOSITION BY RAPHAEL, ALSO KNOWN AS BORGHESE ENTOMBMENT: DESCRIPTION AND CURIOUS FACTS The Deposition by Raphael is one of the artist’s early masterpieces, painted before he moved to Rome, at the court of Pope Julius II, and before many other masterpieces such as the Madonna of the Chair or the Fornarina. In this post you’ll discover details and curious facts […]

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 […]

Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Caravaggio is a painting painted in 1597, a happy period and of great work for the artist. Everything seemed to be perfect, but that it wasn’t exactly true. After all, the model Caravaggio used for the painting belonged to the dark world that inhabited Rome in the late 17th century, […]

LE MOULIN DE LA GALETTE: DESCRIPTION AND CURIOUS FACTS The painting Le Moulin de la Galette by Picasso was executed in 1900, and is considered one of his most interesting early paintings, prior to Cubism but already pervaded by the Parisian atmosphere that the Spanish artist had just started to experience. In this post you’ll find a description […]

COMPOSITION 8 BY KANDINSKY: DESCRIPTION AND CURIOUS FACTS The painting Composition 8 by Kandinsky is one of the masterpieces you can admire at the Guggenheim Museum of New York. The artist painted the work in Weimar, while teaching at the Bauhaus. In this post you’ll discover a painting describing the relationship of strength and movement that can exist […]

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 […]

GOYA’S PAINTINGS: THE UNMISSABLE ONES AND WHERE TO ADMIRE THEM What are Goya’s paintings and where can you admire them? Francisco Goya was the most important Spanish artist after Velázquez and the most famous before Picasso. Just visionary and daring enough to create modern paintings that denounce the horrors of war.  Goya’s paintings to know and […]

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

WOMEN IN MACCHIAIOLI’S WORKS: THE MASTERPIECES TO KNOW AND WOMEN’S ROLE The success of Macchiaioli’s works depends certainly on beauty of their paintings, but the role played by women was decisive, too. Woman enters Macchiaioli’s paintings in a brand new way, and the success depends also on the strength of some special women. Macchiaioli’s works and […]

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 […]