Art & Archaeology

Albrecht Dürer Bewitched

Albrecht Dürer's witch engravings seem to be emblematic of the European witch trials. But could they be about something else entirely?

Sep 10 •

Watching "The Gilded Age"? Behind the Real Artist Who Paints Gladys's Portrait

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was high society's favorite portrait artist. But his oeuvre comes with a few surprises.

Aug 28 •

Van Gogh's "Starry Night" Up Close

"Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star."

Aug 13 •

The Most Hated Artists in the World?

Nothing divides museum-goers like Abstract Expressionists. How did they become a global phenomenon, and what did the CIA have to do with it?

Aug 7 •

Crossroads Roundup: Ed Sheeran's Painting Career, Extraordinary Maya Burial, and Egypt's First Ruler

This month's news in art, archaeology, culture, and more.

Aug 1 •

Last Call at the Café: Manet's Final Years

In the last installment of our series, we examine Édouard Manet's work at the end of his life.

Jul 29 •

A "War on Beauty": Manet and the Impressionists

Manet refused to participate in the First Impressionist Exhibition. Nevertheless, his name was inexorably tied to the Impressionists and their radical…

Jul 24 •

Édouard Manet in the Shadow of War

All was well at the Café Guerbois, until Manet, Degas, and their friends heard the news: France had declared war on Prussia.

Jul 18 •

Art Doesn't Have to Be Snobby

Exclusivity is the thief of joy.

Jul 16 •

Manet Breaks the Fourth Wall

After the 1865 Salon, Édouard Manet befriends a young group of painters with wild ideas, and finds himself again at the center of controversy.

Jul 11 •

Cézanne Summer!

As the Cézanne 2025 festival kicks off in Aix-en-Provence, let's look back on the artist's most favorite place in the world, and the summers he spent…

Jul 9 •

"Some Wretched Frenchman"

Édouard Manet shows "Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe" at the Salon des Refusés, and becomes the most notorious painter in Paris.

Jul 5 •

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