What would be a great deterrent for government officials to restrain from being corrupt during their tenure? This was something that the officials of Bruges thought about when they commissioned a scary painting that was hung inside the city’s town hall. Gerard David (1460-1523) was the Early Netherlandish painter who completed this remarkable work of …
Paintings
When it comes to painters from Antwerp, the first names that come to mind are Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641). Both these Flemish artists made a name for themselves abroad. The same can’t be said about Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), a man who lived and worked in this city in modern-day Belgium …
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 …
The capital city of Belgium is home to a mountain of art. Well, not literally, but the location where you can find the most famous museums is known as the “Mont des Arts” or “Kunstberg.” This translates from French and Dutch respectively (Brussels is bi-lingual) to “Art Mountain” and it can be described as one …
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 …