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Painting story
Whistler's Mother
Whistler's Mother, officially Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1: Portrait of the Painter's Mother, is an 1871 painting by James McNeill Whistler…
Famous Paintings, Explained
The stories behind famous paintings, the painters who made them, and the movements that shaped them. Every work here can be recreated by hand in oil on canvas.
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Painting story
The Hay Wain
Constable’s empty wagon, cottage, dog, haymakers and changing sky reveal a working landscape. Read The Hay Wain through genuine details.
Painting story
Venus of Urbino by Titian
Titian’s direct gaze, roses, sleeping dog and distant household scene connect desire with marriage. Explore Venus of Urbino through close-up details.
Painting story
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Who is Vermeer’s girl? Explore the turning head, painted pearl, blue headscarf and research findings through genuine close-up details.
Painting story
The Night Watch
Rembrandt’s militia portrait comes alive through a captain’s hand, a glowing girl, weapons and a drummer. Explore its details and later trimming.
Painting story
The Scream by Munch
The Scream shows a figure on a bridge above the Oslo fjord, hands pressed to its head under a sky of blood-red bands, while two friends walk on.…
Artist guide
Pierre-Auguste Renoir Paintings
Impressionism · French · 1841 to 1919
Artist guide
Diego Velazquez Paintings
Spanish Baroque · Spanish
Painting story
The Sick Child by Edvard Munch
Munch’s memory of his sister’s death from tuberculosis, painted again in 1907: a pale girl, a bowed woman and two hands joined.
Painting story
The Dance of Life by Edvard Munch
Couples dance by the sea under a low moon, between a woman in white and a woman in black: Munch’s Dance of Life of 1899 to 1900.
Painting story
Melancholy by Edvard Munch
A man sits head on hand by the curving shore at Åsgårdstrand in Munch’s Melancholy, a painting of mood rather than detail.
Painting story
Young Girls at the Piano by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Two girls lean together over a piano score: the version Renoir chose for the French state in 1892, now in the Musée d’Orsay.
Painting story
Umbrellas by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Blue-grey umbrellas rise over a Paris street while a young milliner looks out at us: Renoir’s picture painted in two different styles.
Painting story
The Large Bathers
Discover Renoir’s Large Bathers in Philadelphia: playful gestures, sculptural figures and the years of drawing behind his ambitious bathing scene.
Painting story
Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
A publisher’s wife, her two children in matching blue and a patient Newfoundland: Renoir’s Salon success of 1879.
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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.
