He is undoubtedly the most famous Post-Impressionist artist of all time. He is known for the thick, swirling impasto brushstrokes in his colorful paintings which primarily depict rural life and nature. In this episode, we talk about Vincent Van Gogh....

Best known for her portrayal of domestic scenes as well as the intimate bond between a mother and child, she loved to use bright colors and an unabashed realistic style. She was a leading artist in the Impressionist movement in the latter 1800s and known as one of...

  Known as one of "les trois grandes dames" of Impressionism (along with Cassatt and Bracquemond), Morisot is famous for painting scenes from domestic life: family, children, ladies, beautiful gardens and flowers in watercolors and oils. In this episode, we're...

  He believed that art should celebrate life, beauty and the joy of each moment. Known for his soft, feathery brush strokes in his colorful paintings, he primarily depicted feminine beauty. But he also painted still lifes, as well as rural and domestic scenes. In...

    Pablo Picasso said this artist was his one and only master, and both he and Henri Matisse called him “the father of us all.” As a Post-Impressionist painter, he bridged the gap between Impressionism and Modern Art. His work inspired Cubism, Fauvism, and...

  He was compelled to capture the constantly changing, atmosphere altering light. The way it cast its beauty on land and water — the way it changed the shades and tones of color in the tiniest of degrees. He and his “rebel” friends would rock the art...

He was called "the painter of dancers" but it wasn’t the dancers he wanted to capture—it was the movement. From dancers to horse races to scenes of everyday life, he wanted to paint his subjects in an honest, unguarded moment. And although he was instrumental in...

  He loved the lines and beauty of classical art, yet he wanted to paint that beauty in a modern setting and experiment with his own techniques. And although he desperately wanted his paintings to be exhibited at the Paris Salon, he was continually rejected....

  He was a child prodigy who, at the age of eleven, became the youngest student to enter London's Royal Academy School of Art. Later he would become one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood shocking the classical art establishment. But...

  He was born into an Italian family steeped in a rich cultural and literary heritage which greatly influenced him throughout his life. Often torn between either being an artist or a poet, he chose both. In this episode, we'll talk about Dante Gabriel Rossetti,...

His mother was born a slave, but escaped to Pennsylvania via the Underground Railroad and was a free woman by the time he was born. And although he wanted to establish himself in the art world, the legacy of slavery overshadowed him. In painting African-American...

  Born a peasant, he proudly proclaimed that he would die a peasant. All he had ever known was rural country life, hard-working farmers toiling over the earth. These scenes would influence his art like nothing else could. And he, in turn, would influence two of...

As an artist he brought luminosity, expression, atmosphere, and turbulence to his landscape and seascape paintings. His abstract brushstrokes and palette knife paintings baffled many viewers in his day, but inspired the Impressionist masters. He is the original...

  Described as one of the old masters by some, and the first modern painter by others, this artist is truly in a class all by himself. Though he began during the Rococo period, despised the Neoclassical style, and was labeled as a Romanticist, he created in a...

In the 1770s, a London engraver remarked, "The whole world is Angelicamad," about a Swiss artist. This was a woman who followed her passion and was so good at what she did, that she practically became a celebrity in her day. She was a woman in a man's world, but she...

Referred to as a "political chameleon," he painted whatever the man in power at the time wanted. Whether it was in the frivolous Rococo style for Louis XVI, propaganda for the French Revolution, or commissioned portraits for the self-appointed Emperor of France,...

  He was a painter during the Rococo period, and one of the most decadent eras in history – the reign of Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette. His paintings exuded the beauty, playfulness, frivolity and wealth of the French Aristocracy. But this era would...

  In her lifetime, she painted 200 landscapes and 660 portraits. In fact, Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun was considered one of the most prominent French portrait painters of the late 18th century. She quickly found favor, friendship, and loyal support in one of...

  Although today he is known as the "Master of Light," Johannes Vermeer is also referred to as the "Sphinx of Delft" because there is so little we truly know about him. In fact, he and his paintings remained in relative obscurity for almost 200 years until an art...

  When you really love yourself and you think you're incredibly beautiful, why not paint your self over and over and over and over? That's exactly what Rembrandt did. In fact, he painted almost 100 self-portraits in his lifetime! In this episode, we'll talk about...

  Referred to as the "German Leonardo," Albrecht Dürer is the most famous of the Northern Renaissance artists. He became internationally known through his incredible printmaking techniques. ​ In this episode, we'll talk about why I call him the Renaissance...

Adored by everyone around him, it is said that Raphael was so gentle and charitable that even the animals loved him. In this episode, we're going to learn about the "Disney Princess" of the Renaissance, and his most famous work, The School of Athens. Below is a...

Michelangelo was a brilliant sculptor, architect, poet (and painter, when he was forced to be). But that didn't stop him from being Mr. Grumpy Pants. It did, however, stop him from bathing... Join us as we discuss another Renaissance genius and one of his most famous...

  500 years after he lived, Leonardo da Vinci is still considered a genius and one of the most gifted men to have ever lived. In this podcast episode, we'll tell you why. We'll also discuss Da Vinci's most famous work, the Mona Lisa. Below is a smaller image, but...

In this first episode of the Masterpiece Makers, Olivia and I will introduce ourselves and let you know what you can expect from each episode. The purpose of this podcast is not to replace an in depth study of Art History. But rather to whet your kids’ and teens’...