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Painting story
The King of Thule
An old king holds a cup given by his dying beloved. Explore the face, hands, quiet room and Goethe ballad behind Van der Ouderaa's The King of…
Painting Stories
The meaning and history of famous paintings: what they show, where the originals hang, and how each one is recreated by hand in oil on canvas.
Painting Analysis articles
Painting story
The Beguiling of Merlin by Edward Burne-Jones
The book is open, but its teacher cannot move. Look closely at Nimue, Merlin’s trapped body and the flowering hawthorn in Burne-Jones’s Arthurian…
Painting story
Morgan le Fay by Frederick Sandys
A gift becomes a weapon in Sandys’s Morgan le Fay. Follow her hands to the enchanted robe, then explore the owl, loom, fire and books in her…
Painting story
Medea by Frederick Sandys
Medea’s hand pours above a flame while her face turns away. Explore the gestures, coral, toads and gilded ship in Frederick Sandys’s intensely…
Painting story
The Great He-Goat by Francisco de Goya
A horned leader, a listening crowd and a woman at the edge: a close reading of Goya’s Great He-Goat, including the lost space that changed its…
Painting story
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
Read Picasso’s Guernica through its mother and child, horse, bull, competing lights and broken sword, with historical context and real detail crops.
Painting story
The Fire of Rome by Hubert Robert
The Fire of Rome (about 1771) by Hubert Robert shows the Great Fire of AD 64 seen through a huge dark arch, with temples, a bridge, an ancient…
Painting story
Paris Street; Rainy Day by Caillebotte
Explore Caillebotte’s Paris Street; Rainy Day: the approaching couple, wet cobblestones, Place de Dublin and the carefully constructed modern city.
Painting story
Luncheon on the Grass by Manet
Why did Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass cause a scandal? Explore its nude, modern men, Renaissance sources and picnic details with real crops.
Painting story
Olympia by Édouard Manet
Explore Manet’s Olympia through its gaze, Laure, the bouquet and black cat. Read the Salon scandal, model identities and museum details.
Painting story
Sultan Mourad by Gérôme
A small pig outweighs a ruler seated on a mountain of skulls. Discover the Victor Hugo poem behind Gérôme’s Sultan Mourad and its unsettling…
Painting story
Mephisto by Eduard von Grützner
A devil in red leans out of darkness and smiles. Explore how Eduard von Grützner turned Goethe's Mephisto into a theatrical portrait of persuasion.
Painting story
Witches' Flight by Goya
Three figures fly through the dark carrying a helpless body. Below, one man refuses to look, another covers his ears, and a donkey watches. A…
Painting story
The Chess Players by Moritz Retzsch
A young man plays chess against the Devil for his soul while an angel watches. Retzsch’s 1831 composition became linked to a later legend that…
Painting story
The Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabanel
The Fallen Angel (L'Ange déchu) is an 1847 painting by Alexandre Cabanel showing Lucifer just after his fall from heaven, hiding his face behind…
Painting story
Saint Casilda by Zurbarán
Saint Casilda (c. 1635) by Francisco de Zurbarán shows the legendary princess of Toledo whose bread for Christian prisoners turned into roses,…
Painting story
Saint Francis in Meditation by Zurbarán
Saint Francis in Meditation (1635 to 1639) by Francisco de Zurbarán shows the saint kneeling in a patched habit, his face hidden in the shadow of…
Painting story
Saint Serapion by Zurbarán
Saint Serapion (1628) by Francisco de Zurbarán shows a Mercedarian friar who gave his life to free Christian captives, hanging by his wrists in a…
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Curated collectionsOdyssey, Magic and Witchcraft, Famous Women, Landscapes and more.Artists A to ZEvery painter in the catalogue, with an archive of their works.Art movementsRenaissance to Expressionism: what defines each and who led it.Top 100 most famous paintingsThe ranked list, with the story behind every entry.
