Although this French artist was born into a rich aristocratic family, his life wasn’t easy by any means because he suffered some serious blows as an adolescent. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) broke both his legs while he was 13 and 14 years old and the wounds didn’t heal properly. This was probably caused by a …
Artworks
If you want to know what the nightlife in Paris in the late 19th century looked like, then the oeuvre of his famous French artists is a great place to start. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) is most famously known as an Art Nouveau artist who designed advertisements for magazines and popular nightclubs in Paris. The …
When one of the most famous Baroque painters in history fled his native Milan for Rome, it was the start of a very difficult period in his life. He probably wouldn’t have survived on the street of Rome if it wasn’t for the incredible talent that he was blessed with. Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610), better known …
The Republic of Florence was a powerful state that was established in 1115 and ended up being absorbed by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1569. It was centered around the largest city in Tuscany, Florence, the cultural heart of Central Italy in which some of the most renowned Renaissance artists in history emerged. Yes, …
Before he reached the age of 20, this aspiring French artist moved from his home in the Meuse valley of northeastern France to Paris. Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848-1884) inherited his artistic talent from his father who was an artist himself. He was a Realism artist who developed a style now referred to as Naturalism. The subject …
This fantastic painting by one of the leading Romantic artists of his generation has a remarkable backstory. John Constable (1776-1837) was an English painter who produced his most famous paintings in Suffolk, and more specifically, the area known as Dedham Vale. It was only later in his career that he traveled more frequently and produced …
The life story of this renowned English artist reads as a tragedy, but his incredible talent was undeniable. John William Godward (1861-1922) had a family that didn’t accept his choice to become a full-time artist and even completely abandoned him in the early 20th century. On top of that, he was a Neoclassical artist who …
By the time one of the most renowned Neoclassical artists in history was in her early 40s, she was already one of the most famous painters in Europe. Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807) moved to Rome in the early 1780s and spent the final quarter-century of her life in the Italian capital. She never stopped painting and …
One of the most influential Rococo artists of the early 18th century was fascinated by an early form of theater and it reflects in his paintings. Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) invented a completely new genre of painting and this laid the foundation for the frivolous Rococo paintings in the following decades. In this article, we take …
Very few places outside of the world’s most famous museums allow you to admire 3 stunning paintings in such a small space. The chapel in a famous church in Rome is decorated with 3 masterpieces of the Baroque era, and it allows you to admire the contrast in styles by two renowned Baroque artists. In …