Author: Andy Shield
Oh, Jane Loftus, how did you cope while cooped up under Queen Victoria’s control for 48 years? Widowed at 36, riddled with illness, yet stoic in the face of a sovereign who drew...
Every so often, we discover a painting that provides a few tantalising clues as to its deeper story. A few snippets of information that warrant further investigation - and sometimes immerse us in a...
Author: Polly Pyke
Eyes full of knowledge both amorous and worldly stare back with a twinkle. Bare flesh is suggestively revealed under layers of fine clothing and jewellery. This painting by Henri...
Frederik Vermehren (1823-1910) painted in a style that was rooted in the traditional beliefs of the 'Danish Golden Age'. With ultra-fine details, he carefully laid every mark to create a near-perfe...
During the early 19th-century, the Forest of Fontainebleau, near Paris, spanned over 42,000 acres and housed a wide range of flora and fauna. It had everything a landscape painter longed for and be...
On August 21, 1911, three gents dressed as workmen brazenly walked up to Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, lifted her from the wall of the Louvre’s Salon Carré, and headed for a staircase. Here, they unshackle...
British artist, George Clare (1835-1890), captured nature’s bounty with such detail that it appeared good enough to eat. While many of his contemporaries were focusing on the landscape, he was fora...
French artist Thomas Couture (1815-1879) found himself caught between two competing worlds - anchored by the rocks of traditional thinking yet tethered to the raging forces of modernity.
The often-outspoken 19th-century art critic, John Ruskin (1819-1900) argued that great art is "the expression of the spirits of great men" and it took a great painter to capture the true character ...
