Osman Hamdi: The First and Last Ottoman Orientalist
The first and last Orientalist painter of the Ottoman Empire is Osman Hamdi Bey. Born in modern-day Turkey, educated in Paris, and highly regarded as...
Irina Diana Calu 15 July 2025
Academic Art
Masterpiece Story: The Roses of Heliogabalus by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth. Three of the Seven Deadly Sins are depicted in Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s The Roses of Heliogabalus. Many other sins are...
James W Singer 13 July 2025
Masterpiece Story: The Dessert by John F. Francis
The Dessert by John F. Francis is a masterpiece of still-life painting. Its colorful and elaborate composition reflects 19th-century American and...
James W Singer 11 July 2025
Life and Art of José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior
José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850–1899) was a popular Brazilian artist from the late 19th century. His commendable paintings paved the...
Maya M. Tola 22 May 2025
Alexandre Cabanel in 10 Paintings—Master of French Academic Painting
Alexandre Cabanel rose to fame for his historical, classical, and religious subjects, all executed in the refined style of French academic painting.
Errika Gerakiti 12 May 2025
Constructing Racism in Western Art – Hans Makart and the Case of Cleopatra
When Netflix cast Black actress Adele James as Cleopatra in a docu-series on the life of the famous Egyptian queen, the world went viral in a heated...
Kero Fichter 11 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: Cleopatra by Alexandre Cabanel
Queen Cleopatra is a popular subject today – as she was in the late 19th century. Alexandre Cabanel’s Cleopatra explores a single moment of her...
James W Singer 11 March 2025
Masterpiece Story: The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat by John Weguelin
Here is a Masterpiece Story to honor our beloved cats. The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat by John Weguelin presents an imaginative interpretation of an...
Alexandra Kiely 23 February 2025
The Naked Truth About Nudes in Academic Art
Academicism was the dominant style in European art in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was called so because it was dictated by the French Academy of...
Magda Michalska 3 February 2025
Education Matters! Women in Art Academies
From the 17th to the 19th century, art academies across Europe and America excluded women from their classrooms. Only a few of them count as...
Jimena Escoto 24 January 2025
Six of the World’s Most Famous Art Academies
Have you ever wondered where the world’s most famous artists went to school? Many studied at one (or more) of these six art academies. The schools...
Alexandra Kiely 24 January 2025
Masterpiece Story: Birth of Venus by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
The Birth of Venus is probably the most famous painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and it is considered a masterpiece of French Academic...
James W Singer 29 December 2024
