Art History

Are you passionate about art or eager to expand your knowledge of iconic artists and movements? Explore our Art History section for in-depth insights, fascinating stories, and expert tips. Start your journey to becoming an art expert today!

Top Auction Houses: Bonhams

We continue our world tour visiting the major auction houses (Englanda gain) and present another auctioneer: Bonhams. Bonhams is the result of the 2001 merger between Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. The Bonhams name is associated in the art market with the highest quality, and several of its departments are considered to be international leaders in their…

15/02/2014

Analysing a masterpiece of contemporary art: Exit, V. Velickovic

This week, Artsper has a look at the work of a genius of drawing -- the only art form that he considers worthy of its name -- Vladimir Velickovic. Exit, 1988 When he painted Exit, in 1988, Velickovic was 53. During his life in Belgrade, he has experienced daily violence, massacres, the war which ravaged former Yugoslavia, the Nazi presence…

09/02/2014

An Early and a Late Work by Francis Bacon

The interesting thing about an artist who has passed is the fact that it’s easier to identify their last work than for the last previous cases we’ve analyzed in this section of the blog ((Christian Boltanski et Gerhard Richter). This week, Artsper analyzes two paintings by the star of the auctions, Francis Bacon. Before starting painting, Irish painter Francis Bacon…

01/02/2014

The Richest Living Artists in 2013

In 2013, no need to die of hunger and end your life in poverty in order to be an acclaimed artist. The starving Vincent Van Gogh style is over. To celebrate this, Artsper presents a list of the richest living artists. A selection based on the sales in galleries and auction houses: #1 Damien Hirst The more British of the…

30/01/2014

Top Auction Houses: Sotheby’s

London Calling today for Artsper. We’re taking a short trip to England and present to you an auction giant: Sotheby's. You don't say! Les locaux de Sotheby’s Londres, 34-35 New Bond St, London W1A 2AA Sotheby's is an international corporation specialized in the sale of art, the oldest in the world and the only auction house to be listed on the…

29/01/2014

Analysing a great masterpiece of contemporary art: EROICA, Jean-Michel Basquiat

Today, Artsper analyses with you a great and daring piece of contemporary art, Eroica, a series by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Eroica I, 1988 - 1988, ©Jean-Michel Basquiat After the death of his friend, Andy Warhol, Basquiat, at the top of her career at the time, became haunted by the thought of his own death. Something like a bad premonition. Eroica, repeated…

26/01/2014

10 Things You Should Know about Joseph Beuys

Beuys played with the unusual and unexpected Here are ten things you should know about an art world rebel and political activist Joseph Beuys.

19/01/2014

An early and a late work by … Gerhard Richter

On the occasion of the sale of his work Wand (Wall) at Sotheby's London on 12 February 2014, and after Boltanski, Artsper looks this week at the case of the German painter Richter. His incessant returns between abstraction and figuration, his technical mastery of the pictorial material, make him one of the most expensive living artists on the market, although absent…

17/01/2014

Top Auction Houses: Artcurial

New year - new section for our blog. Artsper presents the history of the most important fine art auction houses in the world and explains how they work. We’re not nationalists, but we’ll start with French house Artcurial though. Hotel Marcel Dassault, 7 rond-point des Champs Elysées Artcurial is formed of three auctioneers: Maitre Briest, Maitre Poulain et Maitre F.…

11/01/2014

An Early and a Late Work by... Christian Boltanski

How do artists evolve? Do they have a philosophy that they are trying to follow, in a more or less unconscious way? Explore works by Christian Boltanski to find out!

24/11/2013

Art Foundations

Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Ricard … you’ve surely heard of these names. But did you know these companies are also patrons of the arts? Artsper is here to guide you. The patrons of the arts – a little bit of history and three examples. 10 years ago there were less than 2000 firms that were sponsoring the arts. In 2003 though,…

06/11/2013

10 Things you should know about Anselm Kiefer

Artsper is your guide in discovering the work of the geniuses of contemporary art. This warm autumn will be the occasion to explore an ambiguous personality: the German artist Anselm Kiefer, who confronts History and makes it his material, revisiting “the spirit of the matter”. He is a genius who makes the memory of his contemporaries confront the painful and…

13/10/2013

6 curators you should absolutely get to know

The curator is the author of the exhibition. Thanks to Artsper, you will find out who today’s 6 most influential curators are and will not miss their work anymore.

11/10/2013

Anecdotes about R.Mutt

This week, Artsper takes a look at the most controversial artwork of the 20th century, Fountain by Marcel Duchamp (1917). We’ll decipher it for you and tell you a few anecdotes we’ve heard about it. Fountain is a readymade of the French artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) submitted in 1917 for the show of the Society of Independent Artists in New…

29/09/2013

A Guide to Prizes for Contemporary Artists

The FIAC and the ceremonies for several awards for artists are approaching, so Artsper made a (non-exhaustive) list of the prizes for contemporary art that you should know about. The Marcel Duchamp Prize Vue de l'exposition de Marguerite Humeau, FOX P, Palais de Tokyo, 2016 Courtesy de l'artiste © André Morin Created in 2000, the Marcel Duchamp prize is an…

10/09/2013

Interview with Walter Schels

The German duo Walter Schels and Beate Lakotta collaborate in 2004 for the making of a series of unique images, entitled «Life Before Death», launched in Germany. Terrified by death, the German photographer Walter Schels, born in 1936, decided to realize this minimal series of portraits of people, before and after their death. His partner, the journalist Beate Lakotta, born…

20/08/2013

10 Street Artists You Should Know

Humourous, captivating, disturbing and heavily engaged urban frescoes adorn the walls of cities worldwide. However, with street art's increasing presence in galleries, many believe that the street-art is “domesticating” itself, and is losing its urban identity. Artsper takes to the streets to find the 10 street artists you simply must know.

14/08/2013

10 Things to know about... Maurizio Cattelan

Provocative and playful, Maurizio Cattelan draws inspiration from the world around him and contemporary art criticism to comment on society.

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