Art history

Technologyanalysis

Is AI generating an ‘averaged’, one-sided, view of art history?

Artists are getting creative to counter visual language being skewed by image-generating apps that average out scraped stock photos and social media files into “mean images”

What paintings did Van Gogh hang above his bed?

“Pictures within pictures” reveal more about life in the Yellow House

How Van Gogh inspired his artist friends to exchange self-portraits

But Vincent was then shocked when Paul Gauguin’s painting arrived at the Yellow House

Ten surprises about Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’

Vincent and his brother Theo once considered the painting a failure—and it only got its name in the 1920s

Van Gogh’s astonishingly bold painting of the church at Auvers, now on show in Amsterdam

The picture exudes spirituality, but after the artist shot himself, its priest refused to help bury him

Religionanalysis

Breaking a taboo: religion is being invited into three major museums

Working with Visual Commentary on Scripture, London’s National Gallery and Berlin’s Bode Museum and Gemäldegalerie are uniting art and theology

How Lavinia Fontana went from ‘prospect’ to first professional woman artist

An exhibition of the 16th-century Italian painter at the National Gallery of Ireland tells the story of her unique circumstances and reveals the results of a recently restored work

Mysterious Picasso portrait may be the key to Adrienne Fidelin’s place in art history

Fidelin, a Black dancer and model who was Man Ray’s partner and muse for years, is believed to be the subject of a Picasso portrait that has not been shown publicly since 1985

Van Gogh's thwarted dream: a painting by the artist blocked from display in a French café

A plan to show the €75m “Garden at Auvers” in the village inn where the artist died has been halted at the last minute, although hopefully temporarily

How Van Gogh’s drawing skills were once trumped by a 16-year-old girl

Discovered: a sketch by a pastor’s daughter, who sat beside Van Gogh when they both depicted a woman peeling potatoes

How Van Gogh’s 'Terrace of a Café at Night'—with its starry sky—was inspired by a friend’s painting

The work’s dramatic colour contrast echoes a Parisian street scene by Louis Anquetin, now on show at London’s National Gallery

Leonardo scholar claims newly discovered document proves artist’s mother was enslaved

While researching a work of historical fiction, Carlo Vecce says he found a document signed by Leonardo da Vinci’s father implying his mother was an enslaved woman from the North Caucasus region

Art history sleuths reunite mother with husband and son in 17th-century Flemish portrait

Scholars have pieced together separate parts of painting after 200 years

The Van Gogh phenomenon: our top ten most popular stories on the artist

After 200 posts of the "Adventures with Van Gogh" blog, an intriguing look back at the most-read posts

Drawing of male nude is Michelangelo’s sketch for Sistine Chapel, scholar says

Red chalk preparatory work may be linked to “Worship of the Brazen Serpent” section of Vatican masterpiece

The Girl with a Glass Bauble Earring? Why Vermeer's painting probably did not depict a real pearl

Plus, did you know the work used to be called “Girl with the Turban” and once sold for less than £1?

Revealed: Vermeer's patron was, in fact, a woman—and she bought half the artist’s entire oeuvre

New research in the Rijksmuseum's catalogue for its Vermeer blockbuster suggests that Maria de Knuijt may have influenced his subject matter

Life in Van Gogh’s Yellow House: the mysterious objects on his kitchen table

A still life, painted just after Vincent mutilated his ear, holds intriguing clues

Can this ‘art world outsider’ draw in an art-curious YouTube crowd?

Hosted by a science writer and actor, the Getty’s "Becoming Artsy" video series ditches the traditional documentary delivery of art history in favour of emotion, drama and fun

Radical outsiders: how Cézanne and Van Gogh drove art to new heights

Ahead of Tate Modern’s Cézanne blockbuster exhibition, we investigate the two artists' links

a blog by Martin Bailey

Brazilian Modernism has been defined by—and, sometimes, against—the country's national identity

As Brazil celebrates its bicentennial this week, we survey the movements that have defined the country's art scene over the past 200 years

Tests reveal secrets of four Vermeer paintings—including their authenticity—in Washington, DC show

The National Gallery of Art has carried out scientific tests on the works, finding fascinating discoveries beneath the paint

New interactive encyclopaedia traces history of Palestinian art and culture

Digital project from the Institute for Palestine Studies in Beirut explores how the Palestinian people have used art to express their social and political history

Politicscomment

Partygate: debaucherous celebrations captured by artists through the ages

As Sue Gray report detailing the British government's breach of lockdown rules is published, we look at similar scenes in art history

From Anglo-Saxon sculpture to Tracey Emin's tent: BBC series summarises the biggest British art events of the past 2,000 years

Art That Made Us winds through the centuries, exploring the cultural effects of landmark historical events such as the Black Death and the First World War

Women are on top at London's Eye of the Collector fair

Almost half the works on show at the boutique event are by female artists—and lower price points are attracting buyers

Exhibitionsinterview

'Art world disillusionment led me to make art with memes': artist Cem A on his London exhibition

The man behind the infamous Instagram account @freeze_magazine shows his meme creations at the Barbican

Interview by Frank Wasser
Booksreview

A new visual history of domestic service spanning 400 years examines the lives of those working within the home

From drawings and paintings by Dürer and Velázquez to lesser known images, book puts servants and slaves centre stage