Art History | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/art-history/RSS feed for Art HistoryenTue, 25 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000This Rock Art in China Has Remained Bright Red for Nearly 2,000 Years. How? The Secret Ingredient Might Be Bloodhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-rock-art-in-china-has-remained-bright-red-for-nearly-2000-years-how-the-secret-ingredient-might-be-blood-180989389/A new study offers clues about how the Luoyue people created rock paintings in what’s now southern China. The murals have somehow been durable enough to withstand rain, heat, wind and humidity for centuriesTue, 25 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-rock-art-in-china-has-remained-bright-red-for-nearly-2000-years-how-the-secret-ingredient-might-be-blood-180989389/These ‘Extremely Rare’ 17th-Century Drawings Were Astonishingly Well-Preserved. Now They Are on Display for the First Time in Nearly a Centuryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/extremely-rare-artworks-from-17th-century-drawing-book-were-astonishingly-well-preserved-now-they-are-on-display-for-first-time-in-nearly-century-180989374/Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum acquired the drawing book, which has artwork attributed to Rombout Uylenburgh, a celebrated 17th-century Dutch painter whose legacy later fell into obscurityFri, 21 Aug 2026 12:00:40 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/extremely-rare-artworks-from-17th-century-drawing-book-were-astonishingly-well-preserved-now-they-are-on-display-for-first-time-in-nearly-century-180989374/Why Gen Z Is Learning to Paint Like 19th-Century Artistshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-gen-z-is-learning-to-paint-like-19th-century-artists-180989359/Paint groups are popping up in parks. Art schools are seeing a surge in applications. The rise of A.I. has people turning to more traditional art formsTue, 18 Aug 2026 18:14:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-gen-z-is-learning-to-paint-like-19th-century-artists-180989359/As Sicilians Flocked to a Religious Festival, Thieves Broke Into a Nearby Museum and Stole Four Renaissance Paintingshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/as-sicilians-flocked-to-religious-festival-thieves-broke-into-nearby-museum-stole-four-renaissance-paintings-180989352/The missing works include three panels from a 15th-century altarpiece by Antonello da Messina, as well as a two-sided devotional painting by the artistMon, 17 Aug 2026 19:36:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/as-sicilians-flocked-to-religious-festival-thieves-broke-into-nearby-museum-stole-four-renaissance-paintings-180989352/This Couple Found a Mysterious 150-Pound Sculpture Buried in Their Backyard. Now, They're Trying to Figure Out Who Made Ithttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-couple-found-a-mysterious-150-pound-sculpture-buried-in-their-backyard-now-theyre-trying-to-figure-out-who-made-it-180989347/After discovering a large limestone bust on their San Francisco property in May, Greg Gatwood and Judy Gittelsohn have spent the past few months trying to unravel its backstoryMon, 17 Aug 2026 14:33:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-couple-found-a-mysterious-150-pound-sculpture-buried-in-their-backyard-now-theyre-trying-to-figure-out-who-made-it-180989347/Months After Burglars Stole Crown Jewels From the Louvre, the Apollo Gallery Reopens, Highlighting Its Origins as a Royal Reception Hallhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/months-after-burglars-stole-crown-jewels-from-the-louvre-the-apollo-gallery-reopens-highlighting-its-origins-as-a-royal-reception-hall-180989182/Museum officials hope visitors will appreciate the gilded hall, conceived by Louis XIV more than 360 years ago, for its history and ornamentation, even without the crown jewelsThu, 23 Jul 2026 19:14:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/months-after-burglars-stole-crown-jewels-from-the-louvre-the-apollo-gallery-reopens-highlighting-its-origins-as-a-royal-reception-hall-180989182/Buckingham Palace's Royal Picture Gallery Revives the Salon-Style Hang, Doubling the Number of Masterpieces on Viewhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/buckingham-palaces-royal-picture-gallery-revives-the-salon-style-hang-doubling-the-number-of-masterpieces-on-view-180989135/Charles III reportedly had a say in the stylistic switch, which rearranged and added artworks by the likes of Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer and Van DyckThu, 16 Jul 2026 18:13:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/buckingham-palaces-royal-picture-gallery-revives-the-salon-style-hang-doubling-the-number-of-masterpieces-on-view-180989135/Scientists Just Learned That This Bat Eats Birds Midflight. A Renaissance Painter May Have Known About It Hundreds of Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-just-learned-that-this-bat-eats-birds-midflight-a-renaissance-painter-may-have-known-about-it-hundreds-of-years-ago-180989096/Last fall, scientists reported the first known recordings of greater noctule bats hunting and feasting on songbirds during night flights. But a 17th-century artwork by Jan Brueghel the Elder seems to depict the species flying with feathered prey in its mouthThu, 09 Jul 2026 16:17:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-just-learned-that-this-bat-eats-birds-midflight-a-renaissance-painter-may-have-known-about-it-hundreds-of-years-ago-180989096/Can You Guess the Origins of Papyrus Fragments or Painted Ceramics? A College Student Turned the Met's Open-Access Database Into an Online Gamehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-you-guess-the-origins-of-papyrus-fragments-or-painted-ceramics-a-college-student-turned-the-mets-open-access-database-into-an-online-game-180989080/If you consider yourself an art history buff, test your smarts with Anthropeum. The game pulls ten images from the Met's open-access archive and challenges players to identify each artifact's time and place of originTue, 07 Jul 2026 17:09:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-you-guess-the-origins-of-papyrus-fragments-or-painted-ceramics-a-college-student-turned-the-mets-open-access-database-into-an-online-game-180989080/