Articles

Edgar Degas, Beach Scene, c. 1876

Rebecca Levenson

The Dreamiest Landscape Paintings in Art Histor...

Explore our selection of the dreamiest landscapes ever painted, where light, color, and imagination turn nature into visions of beauty and wonder.

Jackson Pollock, Number 1A, 1948 © 2025 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York via MoMA

Edward Gray

The Hidden Stories Behind Backgrounds in Paintings

Backgrounds in painting hold secrets, symbols, and atmosphere. They guide the viewer’s eye and transform the meaning of every work of art.

Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait, 1889 via Google Arts and Culture/National Gallery of Art

Adrian Mercer

Why Artists Return to Themselves Through Self-P...

Self-portraits reveal artistry and identity across time. From Dürer to Kahlo, these works chart ambition, vulnerability, and the search for legacy.

Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates, 1787 via The MET

Miles Avery

The Art of Drapery: Fabric as Expression in Pai...

Drapery carries light, form, and meaning in painting. From ancient sculpture to modern installations, fabric has shaped the history of visual art.

The Armory Show, International Exhibition of Modern Art. View of the Cubist gallery (Gallery 53), Art Institute of Chicago, March–April 1913. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Lena Whitmore

The Armory Show of 1913: When Modern Art Shocke...

The 1913 Armory Show brought Cubism, Fauvism, and radical European art to the United States, shocking audiences and changing American art forever.

Joan Miró,  Landscape (The Hare) (Paysage [Le lièvre]), 1927

Rowan Whit

Underrated Joan Miró Paintings That Deserve Mor...

Joan Miró is celebrated for his bold surrealism, yet many of his most striking works remain overlooked. These underrated paintings reveal his true range.

James Tissot, The Gallery of HMS Calcutta (Portsmouth), 1877 via Wikipedia

Isabelle Fenwick

Society Portraits: Men Who Painted Women with E...

Throughout art history, these male painters painted women with grace, romance, and beauty, portraying them in rich clothing and luminous colors.

Raoul Dufy, Boats at Martigues, 1908 via Artchive

Julian Ashford

Fauvism: Bold Colors and the Birth of Modern Pa...

Fauvism brought a radical use of pure color and expressive brushwork. Led by Matisse and Derain, it transformed early 20th-century painting into modern art.

Chris Burden, Trans-Fixed, 1972. Film still from Burden (2016). Courtesy Magnolia Pictures. © 2019 Chris Burden / licensed by The Chris Burden Estate and Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York via Artnet

Sebastian Moore

Curated: Top 10 Most Controversial Art Performa...

From bullets to blood, these 10 controversial performances reveal how artists pushed the limits of the body, morality, and art itself.

Gustave Courbet, The Desperate Man, 1843–45 via Wikimedia Commons

Sable Monroe

Why Artists Remain Obsessed with Faces in Painting

Faces dominate painting across centuries. From Fayum portraits to Bronzino, Courbet, Soutine, and Dumas, artists return to the face as the ultimate subject.