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Art History

View of Olinda, Brazil, with Ruins of the Jesuit Church, Frans Post, 1666

Cool Finds

This 17th-Century Dutch Painting Was Rescued From a Dusty Barn Attic in Connecticut. It Just Sold for More Than $7 Million

Painted in 1666, “View of Olinda, Brazil, With Ruins of the Jesuit Church” is a masterpiece by Frans Post, one of the first European-trained artists to depict the landscapes of Dutch Brazil

Irises on Yellow Columns, Graphic Rewilding

See Soaring Sunflowers and Radiant Roses That Bring Vincent van Gogh’s Paintings to Life

Featuring 18,000 plants and works by three contemporary artists, a new exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden celebrates the Dutch painter’s love of nature

Marguerite Endormie, Henri Matisse, 1920

Meet Marguerite, Henri Matisse’s Eldest Daughter—and One of His Most Influential Models

An exhibition at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris examines Marguerite’s indelible influence on her father’s evolving painting styles

Discovered in a rock shelter in central Spain in July 2022, the stone measures more than eight inches long and more than four inches wide.

New Research

Did a Neanderthal Who Lived 43,000 Years Ago Paint a Red Nose on a Rock That Looked Like a Face?

Researchers theorize that an adult male dipped his finger in red ocher and intentionally used the pigment to complete the face he saw on a small granite stone

Connections between the natural world, the divine and the erotic were a favorite theme for Colquhoun, who described Earth Process, 1940, as an “image from a half-conscious experience.”

A New Exhibition Brings Fresh Recognition to a Groundbreaking But Largely Forgotten Surrealist

At London’s Tate Britain, a major retrospective takes a long look at the work of Ithell Colquhoun

An 1890 photo by Alice Austen titled The Darned Club

Rejected by Museums Around the World, This New Art Exhibition Explores the Historical Roots of the Term ‘Homosexual’

“The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939” is a sprawling collection of more than 300 works at Chicago’s Wrightwood 659 gallery

The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret, circa 1510

Who Created This Peculiar Painting of a Drooling Dragon? Nobody Knows—but a Museum Just Bought It for $20 Million

Painted around 1510, the mysterious altarpiece by an unknown artist features unusual details, including a slobbering dragon and an angel playing the mouth harp

A close-up view of Leonardo da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci, which depicts a famed Florentine poet

Meet the Mysterious Renaissance Muse Immortalized in the Only Leonardo da Vinci Painting in the Americas

Ginevra de’ Benci was a poet famed for her beauty and intellect. But art historians know little about her beyond the writings and artworks left behind by the men who admired her

Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8, Mark Rothko, 1960

Child Scratches Mark Rothko Painting Worth Millions While Visiting Dutch Art Museum

Artworks by the Latvian-American Abstract Expressionist have been damaged before, but repairs have added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars

The installation at 980 Madison Avenue features drawings, sculptures and paintings from throughout Picasso's career.

See Rare Pablo Picasso Masterpieces Curated by His Daughter, Paloma

Nearly a dozen of the works on view in “Picasso: Tête-à-tête” at the Gagosian Gallery in Manhattan have never been on public display before

Castle Howard's restored tapestry drawing room 

See the Newly Renovated Castle Howard, Made Famous by ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘Brideshead Revisited’

After the house suffered extensive fire damage in 1940, generations of the Howard family have faithfully restored parts of the mansion to its 18th-century glory

Elisabeth was adept at crafting a persona that may not have promoted her standing in the Viennese court but certainly helped shape the public’s perspective of her to this day.

Based on a True Story

The Many Myths of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the 19th-Century Royal Whose Beauty and Tragic Death Transformed Her Into a Legend

The reluctant empress known as “Sisi” painstakingly crafted her image through portraits and photographs, ensuring she would be remembered in a specific way

Flowers and Fruit in a Forest, Rachel Ruysch, 1714

Art Meets Science

See the Flower Paintings of Rachel Ruysch, Whose Stunning Still Lifes Are Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve

The Dutch “old mistress” was renowned in her own lifetime. But since her death 275 years ago, her legacy has been largely forgotten

Celebration of the Ommegang in Brussels: The Procession of Our Lady of the Sablon, Denis van Alsloot, 1616

Art Meets Science

How Many People Are in This Painting? The Prado Museum Is Using A.I. to Find Out

With the help of a tech start-up, the Madrid museum is enlisting technology to quantify large crowds in its artworks and boost visitor engagement

Young Lion Resting, Rembrandt van Rijn, circa 1638-42

Rembrandt’s Stunning Sketch of a Lion Will Be Sold at Auction to Fund Wildlife Conservation Efforts

“Young Lion Resting” is among dozens of Dutch Golden Age artworks from the Leiden Collection that are now on view at the H’ART Museum in Amsterdam

One of the wall paintings discovered at the Ashes, a Tudor-era guest house in northeastern England, depicts a dog's head.

Cool Finds

See the ‘Fantastical Beasts and Foliage’ Featured in These Rare, Newly Discovered Tudor Wall Paintings

Created in the Grotesque style, the 16th-century images—revealed by renovations at a lodge in England—mimic historic textile designs

La Moisson, Blanche Hoschedé-Monet, 1885

Monet’s Stepdaughter Painted Breathtaking Impressionist Masterpieces. They’re Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve

Known as the “forgotten Monet,” Blanche Hoschedé-Monet created roughly 300 stunning artworks. She’s now getting her first-ever solo exhibition in the United States

The roots along Rue Daubigny in Auvers-sur-Oise as they appeared in 2020

Who Should Own the Hillside Where Vincent van Gogh Made His Last Painting?

The real-life location of the Dutch Post-Impressionist’s 1890 painting “Tree Roots” has been the subject of five years of legal battles between homeowners and a French mayor who wants to turn the site public

View of the "Paris Noir" exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris

This Exhibition Spotlights the Black Artists Who Called France Home in the 20th Century

A blockbuster show at the Centre Pompidou in Paris spotlights 300-plus works by 150 artists of African heritage

The Brooch, Edvard Munch, 1902

Edvard Munch Is Known as the Painter of ‘The Scream.’ His Many Haunting Portraits Show That He Was Much More Than His Masterpiece

Through 45 artworks made between the 1880s and the 1920s, a new exhibition spotlights the Norwegian artist’s sometimes divisive style of portraiture

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