Greffen

Art History explained

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

Picasso painted these self-portraits 75 years apart.

One at 15. One at 90.

The first shows a young artist mastering realism. The second shows a man confronting age, mortality, and a lifetime of reinvention.

An entire artistic journey in two faces.

#Picasso #ArtHistory

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

Most people think Christ the Redeemer is just a statue.

It’s actually one of the great Art Deco monuments of the 20th century — designed by Heitor da Silva Costa and sculpted by Paul Landowski.

Art, faith, engineering, and Rio in one image.

#ArtHistory #ArtDeco #brazil

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

For nearly 400 years, this image of St. George slaying the dragon was hidden behind another painting in a church in Naples.

#ArtHistory #HiddenArt #Naples #Italy #Restoration

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

Behold Toledo’s Custodia de Arfe — one of the greatest treasures of Spanish sacred art.

#Toledo #CustodiaDeArfe #CorpusChristi #SpanishArt #ArtHistory

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

Claude Monet Was Going Blind… And Accidentally Helped Invent Modern Art

In this rare 1925 photograph, Claude Monet sits surrounded by the paintings that changed art forever.

#art #modernart #monet

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

Théophile Steinlen’s Siamese Cat and her Kitten (1920) captures something timeless — quiet warmth, softness, and the simple intimacy between a mother and child.

#Steinlen #CatArt #ArtHistory #FineArt #VintageArt #PastelDrawing #CatLovers #FrenchArt #MuseumArt #CharcoalDrawing

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

John Singer Sargent didn’t just paint the rich — he revealed their world.

Wealth, beauty, status, scandal, performance.

His Madame X shocked Paris in 1884. Today, it’s one of the greatest portraits ever painted.

#JohnSingerSargent #MadameX #ArtHistory #FineArt

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

Art Deco: the 1920s–30s style that made luxury futuristic ✨
Think Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, chrome details, bold geometry, and timeless glamour.
Still iconic. Still ahead of its time.
#ArtDeco #Architecture #Design #Vintage

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

New York City from above in 1906.
Believed to be the earliest known aerial photo of NYC, taken from a hot air balloon by James A. Hart.
No glass towers. No modern skyline.
Just Manhattan before it became Manhattan.
#NYCHistory #VintageNYC #NewYorkCity #Manhattan

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

James Tissot’s Le Demoiselle de magasin (The Shop Girl), 1883–1885.

One of the great paintings of modern Parisian life.Behind the elegance and fashion, Tissot captures something deeper: the rise of consumer culture, department stores, and the changing role of women.
#art #paris

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

These art movements changed the way we experience beauty forever.

#ArtHistory #FineArt #ArtReels #Surrealism #Romanticism #Pointillism

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

This Botticelli may be one of history’s earliest branding images.

An unidentified young man presents a medal of Cosimo de’ Medici almost like a relic.

Portrait… or political messaging?

Both.

#ArtHistory #Botticelli #Medici

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

This Botticelli may be one of history’s earliest branding images.

An unidentified young man presents a medal of Cosimo de’ Medici almost like a relic.

Portrait… or political messaging?

Both.

#ArtHistory #Botticelli #Medici

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

This is Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat (1782) by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun.

At first glance, it feels effortless—natural light, soft features, an almost casual elegance.

But look closer.

She is fully aware of your gaze.

#VigeeLeBrun #WomenInArt #ArtHistory #SelfPortrait

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

This is Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat (1782) by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun.

At first glance, it feels effortless—natural light, soft features, an almost casual elegance.

But look closer.

She is fully aware of your gaze.

#VigeeLeBrun #WomenInArt #ArtHistory #SelfPortrait

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

This is A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882) by Édouard Manet.

At first glance, it feels like a straightforward scene of Paris nightlife: a barmaid, a crowd, bottles, and a mirror.

But the mirror changes eveything.

#Manet #FoliesBergere #ArtExplained #ArtHistory #Impressionism

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

A beautiful Renaissance Painting packed with symbolism. Mary with the Child and Singing Angels (detail, c. 1478), by Sandro Botticelli. The modulation and almost cut-out-like quality of Botticelli never fails to impress and pique the viewer.

#art #appraiser #paintings

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

This is Little Girl with Meadow Flower Bouquet, painted in 1889 by Marie Wunsch. At first it looks simple — a child holding wildflowers. But the expression, the dark background, and the unarranged bouquet make it feel less like a portrait and more like a memory.

#art #paintings

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

Louise Brooks reimagined by artist Lyse Marion.

She didn’t just define the look of the 1920s — she still feels modern. This piece keeps her mystery, control, and iconic bob, but gives it a vivid new charge.

#LouiseBrooks #LyseMarion #1920s

[Greffen @ARTEXPLAINE]

You’ve seen George Washington as a symbol.

This rare Gilbert Stuart portrait shows something else: the red velvet coat, the flushed face, the aging features.

Less icon. More person.

#GeorgeWashington #GilbertStuart #ArtHistory #AmericanHistory