Turner's large watercolor The Great Falls of the Reichenbach appeared in a 2012 episode of BBC's television series Sherlock. Learn why this choice was so incredibly fitting.
Category: Fun Facts
Don’t Walk Like an Egyptian, Because They Didn’t, Either! (a fun fact)
People often talk about "walking like an Egyptian", but ancient Egyptians definitely did not walk this way. Instead, this iconic pose comes from Egyptian art, and I'm here to tell you why.
A Skating and Art Fun Fact
I recently learned an interesting skating fact while working on an art history project. It has to do with the fashionable way to skate in the 18th and 19th centuries. Find out why I don't recommend skating that way today, then read my piece about Gilbert Stuart's "The Skater" on DailyArt app on Jan 19th.
A Matter of Perspective (a fun fact)
When Leonardo da Vinci painted his famous The Last Supper for the Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery in Milan, he used some cool tricks to make the painting seem to be part of the room itself. Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1490s. Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan. [Public Domain] via Wikimedia Commons. The Last… Continue reading A Matter of Perspective (a fun fact)
The Minoan Bull Leaping Fresco
In the ancient city of Knossos, on the Aegean island of Crete, archaeologists found lots of beautiful frescos while excavating. Lots of them depicted scenes of everyday, real and imagined animals, and gorgeous foliage, but one of them depicted something far stranger - a trio of people vaulting over a bull.
The Hidden Colors of Antiquity
We're used to thinking of ancient Greek sculptures as plain white. We look at them and clearly see that they're made of white marble with no other colors whatsoever. But, the truth is exactly the opposite. Learn about how the ancient Greeks and Romans painted their statuary and see what this might have originally looked like.
The World’s First Painter: A Fun Fact That’s Totally a Fable
In his Natural History, The ancient Roman historian Pliny the Elder tells a memorable tale about the world's first painter.
The Oxen of Laon Cathedral
A charming story about Laon Cathedral, an important early Gothic church, and why it has sixteen life-sized statues of oxen on its towers.
Fool Me Once: A Fun Fact
Roman historian Pliny the Elder tells a humorous story about two artists trying to outdo each other with their illusionistic paintings.
The War of Art: A John Singer Sargent Fun Fact
A little backstory on John Singer Sargent's portrait of French siblings Edouard and Marie-Louise Pailleron. In this unusual case, animosity between the artist and one of the sitters made for surprisingly effective painting.