Oksana Kopenkina

The painting by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) “The shepherds of Arcadia” is unlikely to attract your attention in the Louvre as it is. Unless you adore Poussin. However, if you know the painting’s plot, it becomes almost the most interesting one among all the paintings in the world. So, what do we see in the picture? As judged by the name, we see three shepherds and a lady, …

The Shepherds of Arcadia. Poussin’s most mysterious painting Read More »

“The worst crimes are committed not by those who break the rules. But by those who follow them eagerly”. – Banksy No one really knows who he is. Maybe he doesn’t even exist. Some people suggest that several influential artists are hidden under the Banksy name. Banksy (presumably born in 1973) gives his own comments …

10 incredible works by brave Banksy Read More »

The Renaissance. Italy. XV-XVI centuries. Early capitalism. The country is ruled by rich bankers. They are interested in art and science. The rich and powerful surround themselves with the talented and wise. Poets, philosophers, artists, and sculptors dialogize with their patrons every day. For a moment, it may seem that wise men really rule people, just as Plato wanted. The ancient Romans and Greeks weren’t forgotten either. They also built a society of …

The Renaissance era artists. 6 great Italian masters. Read More »

Ancient Greek myths are exciting adventures of gods, heroes, and evil creatures. They are interesting in every respect. They are more entertaining than Hollywood blockbusters and give an opportunity to understand a completely different mindset of people of pre-Christian civilization. But not only ancient authors gave us knowledge about mythology. Artists who lived before the …

Mythological paintings. The main characters and symbols Read More »

The myth about Perseus and Andromeda is one of the best-known ones. Everyone knows the monster who wanted to devour a beautiful maiden and about the courages hero who defeated the demon and saved the beauty. But we hardly remember the details. However, the myth details are one more intriguing than another. Both the prehistory …

Perseus and Andromeda. The characters and symbols in the Rubens’ painting Read More »

Only few people knew about Botticelli’s “Spring” for as long as… 450 years! At first, it was housed by Medici descendants. Later, it was moved to the Uffizi Gallery. However… You won’t believe it – it had been stored in repository for 100 years! And only in the early 20th century it was introduced to …

“Spring” by Botticelli. The main characters and symbols Read More »

It’s not so easy to enjoy a picture with a mythological plot. At first, it is important to understand its characters and symbols. Of course, everyone has heard who is Ariadne and who is Bacchus. But perhaps, we have forgotten why they met. And who are all the other characters in the Titian’s picture. Therefore, …

Bacchus and Ariadne. Characters and symbols in the picture by Titian Read More »

The Young Pope series by Paolo Sorrentino is one of the most incredible TV movies ever filmed. It is a masterpiece. It combines the beauty, and the deep message, and the creator’s mastery. The main character Pope Pius XIII (born Lenny Belardo) is an extremely controversial person. He smokes like a chimney. Drinks Diet Coke. …

The Young Pope: 9 paintings from the series deciphered Read More »

In late 2017, the art society was shocked twice. A work by none other than Leonardo da Vinci* was offered for sale. And this may happen only once in 1000 years. Moreover, it was sold for almost half a billion dollars! This is likely to never happen again. But for many people this news outshined …

“The Savior of the World” (Salvator Mundi) by Leonardo da Vinci. 5 curious details of the painting Read More »

Holland. The 17th century country is flourishing unprecedentedly – it is the so-called Golden Age. At the end of the 16th century, several of the country’s provinces won independence from Spain. Since then, the Protestant Netherlands chose their own path. And Catholic Flanders (present-day Belgium) went its own way under the Spain’s wing. In independent …

Dutch painters. 8 masters of the Netherlandic Golden Age Read More »