Art History

Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" finds its subject striking a contrapposto pose

Why Viewers Are Drawn to Renaissance Artists' Go-To Pose

A new study finds that the contrapposto stance reduces the waist-to-hip ratio, an attribute popularly associated with attractiveness

The painting, expected to sell for upwards of $6 million, will be auctioned October 27

Lost Renaissance Masterpiece Found Hanging Above Woman’s Hot Plate Sells for $26.8 Million

Experts say the panel painting was created by Florentine artist Cimabue around 1280

Maria Oakey Dewing, "Garden in May," 1895,

Why the Rare Works of Maria Oakey Dewing Are Worthy of a Reconsideration

Smithsonian Provost John Davis takes a closer look at the painter, who described herself as a "garden-thirsty soul."

Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" will make an appearance in the Louvre's upcoming blockbuster exhibition

Leonardo’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ Is Headed to the Louvre Despite Italian Scholars’ Protests

Some researchers say the roughly 530-year-old drawing is too fragile, light-sensitive to travel

For the first time in some 450 years, Nelli’s "Last Supper" is finally on public view

Renaissance Nun's 'Last Supper' Painting Makes Public Debut After 450 Years in Hiding

The 21-foot canvas, created by self-taught artist and nun Plautilla Nelli, is now on view in Florence

Anna Birnie, Van Gogh's governess and likely first art teacher.

Research Reveals Vincent van Gogh's Artistic Governess

Anna Birnie, daughter of an artist, taught Vincent and his siblings for three years, including lesson on drawing

The "Versailles of Dresden" Has Been Rebuilt, 74 Years After World War II

The opulent royal apartments at the Residential Palace were Augustus the Strong's attempt to project and prolong his power

The Guggenheim Museum's Hilma af Klint exhibition was a surprise hit, eventually becoming the Manhattan institution's most-visited show of all time

Study Shows U.S. Museums Still Lag When It Comes to Acquiring Works by Women Artists

Between 2008 and 2018, artwork by women represented just 11 percent of acquisitions and 14 percent of exhibitions at 26 major museums

Jo van Gogh-Bonger and her son Vincent Willem, as photographed in Paris in 1890

New Biography Spotlights Jo Bonger, Sister-in-Law Who Helped Rescue van Gogh From Obscurity

Bonger, wife of van Gogh's brother Theo, described her mission as 'getting [Vincent's work] seen and appreciated as much as possible'

Courtyard of the Amsterdam Museum.

Why the Amsterdam Museum Will No Longer Use the Term 'Dutch Golden Age'

The museum contends that the moniker, which is often used to describe the Dutch Republic in the 17th century, ignores the brutalities of the period

Andrea del Verrocchio, "Head of a Woman With Braided Hair," c. 1475-1478

The Man Who Mentored da Vinci Receives First U.S. Retrospective

National Gallery of Art spotlights Andrea del Verrocchio, a skilled sculptor and painter whose individual accomplishments have long been overlooked

Help Find the Owners of More Than 100 Recovered Artworks

Stolen around Los Angeles in 1993, the paintings and antiques were recently recovered by LAPD when some were brought to an auction house

The Met is seeking a curator of Native American art

The Met Is Hiring Its First Full-Time Curator of Native American Art

The ideal candidate will have ‘[d]emonstrable connections with descendent communities’

The sculptor Edmonia Lewis (above: by Henry Rocher, c. 1870), “really broke through every obstacle," says the Smithsonian's Karen Lemmey.

Sculptor Edmonia Lewis Shattered Gender and Race Expectations in 19th-Century America

As the orphaned child of a black father and a Native-American mother, Lewis rewrote the 19th-century definition of sculptor

One critic of the proposed redefinition says, "It would be hard for most French museums—starting with the Louvre—to correspond to this definition, considering themselves as ‘polyphonic spaces'"

The Term ‘Museum’ May Be Getting Redefined

But experts are divided on the proposed new definition

Edward Hopper, "Western Motel," 1957

Thanks to the Hopper Hotel Experience, You Can Now Spend a Night at the Museum

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will host guests in a 3-D recreation of Edward Hopper's 1957 painting, 'Western Motel'

The underlying sketches found beneath The Virgin of the Rocks

Imaging Reveals Leonardo da Vinci Wrestled With the Composition of 'The Virgin of the Rocks'

Two underdrawings detected using high-tech imaging techniques show he altered the figures twice before painting

Style, identity and agency are fundamental themes in the work of Mickalene Thomas (above: Portrait of Mnonja).

The Fierce Pride and Passion of Rhinestone Fashion

In this episode of ‘Re:Frame,’ Smithsonian curators investigate the intentionality and agency behind the clothing we wear

One witness to an 1859 Northern Lights display was the artist Frederic Edwin Church, who later painted Aurora Borealis (above, detail).

The Crazy Superstitions and Real-Life Science of the Northern Lights

In the latest episode of ‘Re:Frame,’ Smithsonian curators take a deep dive into the dramatic painting ‘Aurora Borealis’ by Frederic Church

A new episode of the web series “Re:Frame” from the Smithsonian American Art Museum explores the story and artworks of Mingering Mike.

All the World’s a Fantastical Stage for the Artist Mingering Mike

‘Re:Frame’ delves into a work of one of Washington D.C.’s most imaginative artists and his fascination with the historic Howard Theatre

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