Lady of the Roses is another beauty by Frantizek Dvorak (1862-1927). Born as Frantisek Brunner, he traveled the world for inspiration and changed his surname to Dvorak to more strongly identify with his Czech background.

 Lady of the Roses is another beauty by Frantizek Dvorak

Concerts are a centuries-old form of entertainment!

This Concert (1751) by Giovanni Paolo Panini was organized by the Duc de Nivernais to Mark the Birth of a new heir to the French throne.

 Concerts are a centuries-old form of entertainment! This

Renoir loved to paint his family. His favorite model was his youngest son Claude, who is about four years old in this portrait, practicing on the easel. He would later become a ceramic artist.

 Renoir loved to paint his family. His favorite model was

The Baroque introduced stark contrast between light and dark to increase the drama depicted. Rembrandt could really take this to the extreme is some painting, like he did in this Judith at the Banquet of Holofernes (1634). The painting is part of a series of heroic woman that Rembrandt painted between 1633 and 1635.

 The Baroque introduced stark contrast between light and

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) painted exquisite portraits of successful woman all over Europe.

This self-portrait is on display in the National Gallery in London.

 Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) painted exquisite

Who will be the first to lose his patience?

Exemplary Behavior (c. 1870) was painted by Horatio Henry Couldery (1832–1918), who specialized in painting domestic cats and dogs.

 Who will be the first to lose his patience? Exemplary

Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904) may be the most spectacular American landscape and still life painter. Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth is a wonderful example of the colors, shapes, and sensuality of his work.

This work is on display in the National Gallery of Art, where other works of him are as well, including very colorful works made in the tropics of flowers and hummingbirds.

 You can almost smell these flowers. Martin Johnson Heade

Hip, Hip, Hurrah! Artists’ Party, Skagen by Peder Severin Krøyer (1851-1909) is a celebration of art, friendship, and life.

And while it looks like a spontaneous, impressionistic gathering, it took the artist four years to create this painting.

 Hip, Hip, Hurrah! Artists’ Party, Skagen by Peder Severin

In some things they were very similar, like these streets with flags (the first image is by Manet, the second one by Monet). But in many other things there is a world of difference between both!

Manet was probably more controversial and Manet more an idealist. Manet lived relatively short, Monet got very old. Manet was charismatic, Monet less so.

 Who is your favorite? Manet or Monet? In some things they

Postman Joseph Roulin was sort of an older brother to Vincent van Gogh. He painted him and his family over 20 times.

Learn more about this portrait in the free audio tour of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: www.amuzeapp.com.

 Postman Joseph Roulin was sort of an older brother to

Ramon Casas (1866-1932) was a Catalan artist representing an art movement called Modernisme, which brought Catalan art on par with the rest of Europe. His Ballerinas (1901-1902) reminds me of the Degas' beautiful dancers.

 Ramon Casas (1866-1932) was a Catalan artist representing

Not only humans have emotions, animals do too as powerfully expressed in Anguish (1878) by August Friedrich Schenck.

This ewe expresses both despair and a strong determination to prevent the murderous circle of crows of feasting on the bleeding lamb.

 Not only humans have emotions, animals do too as powerfully

Spirit (1885) is a marvelous, supernatural work by George Roux, who was best known for his science-fiction illustrations for the books of Jules Verne.

This painting was an illustration for a story written by Théophile Gautier.

 Spirit (1885) is a marvelous, supernatural work by George

An Idle Moment (1885) captures this woman just staring with a fish bowl in front of her.

It was painted with a very limited palette of colors by John White Alexander (1856-1915), who was mainly known for his portrait paintings.

 We all have these moments... An Idle Moment (1885) captures

Sometimes the shadow is better than the light.

Shadows (1887) shows a woman doing a simple daily chore. It was painted by the American Impressionist Charles Courtney Curran (1861-1942).

 Sometimes the shadow is better than the light. Shadows

Happy Days (1909) by Karol D. Witkowski is a great example of his sentimental yet realistic works.

This Polish-American artist was popular in the US for his portraits of the elite but is, today, better remembered for his paintings of children.

 Happy Days (1909) by Karol D. Witkowski is a great example

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) has such a unique style. These portraits of mother and daughter were painted just after his golden period.

The Portraits of Eugenia and Mäda Primavesi are on display in New York and Japan.

 Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) has such a unique style. These

Like several of the greatest artists, the Expressionist artist Max Beckmann (1884-1950) frequently painted self-portraits. This Self-Portrait with Blue Jacket was painted at age 66, the year he died.

 Like several of the greatest artists, the Expressionist

The Artist's Studio (1898) is probably the last work painted by Charles Napier Kennedy (1852-1898).

It shows a painter standing in the door opening, while a woman is inspecting his painting. It is a full length portrait of a man, which can we can clearly see by comparing the size of the painting and the woman.

This painting was sold in 2008 for about $4500, and not much detail about it is known, allowing us to speculate a bit. First of all, is it Charles Napier Kennedy himself who is standing in the doorway?

And who is the woman? Is it his wife who was also a painter? Or is the woman perhaps the commissioner of the painting? It could be that she is inspecting the portrait of her lover. At first it seem that she is inspecting a detail in the background of the painting, but her lips are also very close to those of the painted man.

And is the artist patiently waiting to hear her evaluation of the painting, or did he walk in on her standing so close to it, and is he a bit surprised.

In any case, it is a wonderful and intriguing painting, and it is sometimes great to see that not all great art has to costs hundreds of thousands or more.

 What is she doing? The Artist's Studio (1898) is probably

The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius is brilliant in its simplicity. It got very popular after it prominently featured in Donna Tartt's book with the same name.

It was probably part of a larger painting which may have been damaged during the large gunpowder explosion in Delft which also killed Carel Fabritius.

 The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius is brilliant in its

I hope you'll enjoy the weekend as much as this old couple!

The Joker (1910) is painted by Gaetano Bellei. And not all good art has to be crazy expensive, as this was sold for less than $10k a few years ago.

 I hope you'll enjoy the weekend as much as this old couple!

Hillside in Provence (1890-1892) by Paul Cézanne is a wonderful example of a rhythmic painting.

His rhythmic patches of color fragments the nature in this painting and would be the beginning of the Cubism art movement.

 Hillside in Provence (1890-1892) by Paul Cézanne is a

The Odalisque was one of the favorite subjects of Romantic painters and Francesco Hayez (1791-1882) made this Reclining Odalisque.

This Oriental theme gave European artists an excuse to create a sensual and semi-nude portraits.

 The Odalisque was one of the favorite subjects of Romantic

Things are not always what they look like at first sight.

Alms of a Beggar (1880) was painted by Jean-Eugene Buland (1852-1926). In this case, the man with his patched-up pants is the one helping out another. He has a coin in his hand to give to the woman in white. It may be his last coin.

The woman is seated in a church, and she is immaculately dressed in white. This woman holds up her hands to collect the alms. She represents the church (either symbolically or physically by being the one collecting the alms for the church).

The painting raises several questions? Why are the roles seemingly reversed here? Shouldn't the church help out the beggar? And do both figures seem so removed from what's going on? They are both just gazing ahead. And the church seems to be in good condition here, why do they need these alms. Are they helping people more in need than this beggar? Anyway, it makes it a very interesting painting.

 Things are not always what they look like at first sight

Twilight, Venice is a spectacularly colorful impression on the San Giorgio Maggiore church.

It is part of a series of paintings in which Monet depicted "The Floating City" under different atmospheric conditions.

 Twilight, Venice is a spectacularly colorful impression on

Courbet's The Artist's Studio in the Musee d'Orsay is one of those paintings that is so much better in reality than when seeing an image of it. Courbet expresses his artistic vision by promoting Realism and mocking the Romantic and Academic art movements.

The longer you look at it, the more great details you discover. And then he could not even finish the painting. He wanted to paint replicas of his own works in the background, but as he did not have enough time to do that to submit the work to the Paris Salon (where it obviously got rejected), he just filled up the background with some vague colors.

 Courbet's The Artist's Studio in the Musee d'Orsay is one

The moment Ariadne discovers she's been abandoned by her lover.

Ariadne Abandoned by Theseus was painted by Angelica Kauffmann (1741-1807), one of the most successful Neoclassical artists.

 The moment Ariadne discovers she's been abandoned by her

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun's Self Portrait in a Straw Hat was directly inspired by Rubens' Portrait of Susanna Lunden. Le Brun was deeply impressed by Rubens' incorporation of both daylight and sunlight.

 Vigée Le Brun or Rubens? Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun's Self

During the 19th century, the Rocky Mountain School of Painters captured the grandeur of the American mountain landscape in the West.

This is The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone by Thomas Moran (1837-1926).

 During the 19th century, the Rocky Mountain School of

Like many great artists, Renoir visited Venice for inspiration. During his visit in October 1881, he made a series of quick Impressionist paintings, among this view of The Piazza San Marco.

 Like many great artists, Renoir visited Venice for

The shadows in this moonlight painting of Venice are wonderful!

A Moonlight View of the Piazza San Marco towards San Giorgio Maggiore (1871) was painted by Friedrich Nerly.

 The shadows in this moonlight painting of Venice are

The pharaoh's daughter found a baby in the river and cannot resist bringing it home.

The Finding of Moses (1904) was painted by Lawrence Alma-Tadema and sold for $36 million in 2010.