When Landscape Painting Was Protest Art
The landscape painter Thomas Cole celebrated the American landscape, but also expressed doubts about the limits of civilization.
Jan van der Heyden and the Dawn of Efficient Street Lights
17th-century Amsterdam was the first city in Europe to have an efficient system of street lighting—thanks to a Golden Age painter called Jan van der Heyden.
Emma Amos’s Family Romance
Postmodernist painter and printmaker Emma Amos makes artwork that references historical figures as well as her family legacy.
Louis XIV, Napoleon, and Macron: The Choreography of Portraits
Official portraits have been a means of communicating intention and creating image throughout history. Consider three of France's iconic leaders.
How Buon Fresco Brought Perspective to Drawing
Buon fresco, perhaps the best-known kind of wall painting, is the result of a chemical reaction turning paint and wet plaster into a single, solid surface.
The 17th-Century Dutch Version of Bookstagram
Jan Davidszoon de Heem, one of the greatest still-life painters of the 17th century Dutch Golden Age, brought particular brilliance to book still-lifes.
Caroline Louisa Daly Is Finally Getting Her Due
The works of the Canadian painter Caroline Louisa Daly were for years incorrectly attributed to Charles Daly, a municipal bureaucrat turned artist.
Marie Cosindas and the Painterly Photograph
A student of painting, then of black and white photography under Ansel Adams, Marie Cosindas became famous for turning color photography into an art form.
Was Marsden Hartley Really a Great Painter?
Was American painter Marsden Hartley an innovator, or an imitator? Some call him a great artist, while others say he didn't know how to paint.
How to Talk About Diego Rivera and Mexican Art
Diego Rivera's artwork has always been intimately tied to the culture of his native Mexico, although this was not always seen as a sophisticated choice.