In 1921 a French critic posed a priceless question: "By what witchcraft did [Vermeer], representing the most daily and commonplace sights, manage to give the viewer so mysterious, so grand, so exceptional an emotion?" Vermeer produced only 36 paintings before he died at 43. Yet each piece blissfully

Baroque art, Clean, Contemplative, Domestic, Serene, Tranquil

Judith Leyster signed her paintings with a unique symbol: her initials interwoven with a lodestar. This visual translation of her last name means "guiding light" in Dutch. But for 200 years after her death Leyster's light was blacked out in the art world. Until the late 1870s her work was attributed

Baroque art, Bright, Elegant, Joyful, Lush, Playful

In 1610, when most girls her age were confined to embroidery and sewing, Artemisia Gentileschi was in her Roman studio producing an artistic back flip. "Susanna and the Elders" had, until Gentileschi stepped into the ring, been painted as a case of two repectable elderly gentlemen peeking at a sexual

Baroque art, Dense, Dramatic, Enigmatic, Intense, Pathos

Giotto di Bondone, whom art historians designate the first painter of the Italian Renaissance, was apparently discovered while sketching sheep. A well-known Florentine artist looked over the boy's shoulder and was impressed by what he saw -- so impressed that he persuaded Giotto's father to let the l

Bright, Classical, Huge, Joyful, Monumental, Religious, Renaissance art