Trace Bradley

Trace is an amateur painter who turned her hobby into a lovely obsession. She is keen to learn everything about the most famous artworks ever created and aims to apply their techniques to her works. She documents her findings on Art-Facts to help you understand every aspect of paintings and other forms of art and gets back to her easel shortly after.

What appears to be a jolly bunch during one of the popular carnivals of the late 19th century actually has a much deeper meaning. James Ensor (1860-1949) was a Belgian artist who pioneered grotesque imagery. This type of art was quite revolutionary at the time. Even though he is sometimes labeled as an Expressionist artist, …

The largest painting on display in a museum in a South East Asian country is also one of the ultimate masterpieces of a Filipino painter. Juan Luna (1857-1899) wasn’t merely a renowned painter in the Philippines but is often considered the first internationally-recognized Filipino artist. This colossal work of art eventually inspired a national hero …

It’s not hard to understand why this particular painting became one of the most famous American paintings in history. Even though the backstory of the main figure is quite tragic, it’s also a work of art that embodies courage and perseverance. Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) was one of the most celebrated American artists of the 20th …

Very few countries have played such an important role in the course of art history than France, and that’s definitely not an understatement. French painters have been pivotal in the development of various art movements, pretty much ever since the Baroque era in the 17th century. Rococo, Romanticism, and Impressionism are just some of the …

Did you know that one of the most iconic American paintings ever completed wasn’t painted by an American artist? The fascinating depiction of a surprise attack that secured an important victory during the American Revolutionary War is a world-famous work of art. It was painted by a German-born artist who moved to the United States …

Art has the ability to transcend the cultural landscape into a visual representation, and that’s one of the reasons why I find paintings so fascinating. American artists have produced artworks for centuries that embody this definition, so I have compiled a list of some of the most famous American paintings in history. Remarkably, not every …

Few paintings capture the essence of American culture like Grant Wood’s “American Gothic.” The iconic portrait, depicting a stern-faced farmer and his spinster daughter standing in front of their Iowa farmhouse, has become an enduring symbol of the American heartland. Despite its fame, however, few people know the fascinating story behind the painting’s creation and …

This Early Netherlandish Painter was born in the Dutch city of Haarlem but spent most of his career in Leuven in modern-day Belgium. Dieric Bouts (1415-1475) became the leading artist in this city just east of Brussels and earned some prestigious commissions. Most of his works are either small devotional paintings, portraits, or large religious …

A new artistic period known as Early Netherlandish painting emerged in the early 15th century in multiple cities in modern-day Belgium. Several painters, known today as the Flemish Primitives, worked in cities such as Bruges, Ghent, Mechelen, Leuven, Tournai, and Brussels, and radically changed the course of art history. What’s remarkable is that several painters …

The Renaissance marked a revived interest in classical antiquity all across Europe and along came the influence of mythology on art. Ancient Greek and Roman tales that explain certain events were visualized by the greatest artists in history as they were commissioned by wealthy patrons. Today, you can find these mythological paintings in the most …