Lady K'abal Xook (Lady Xoc) on Lintel 25 from Yaxchilán
The ancient Maya queen Lady K’abal Xook (Lady Xoc) of Yaxchilan appears on three of the most famous examples of Maya art (and Mesoamerican art!), including Lintel 25. Find out why!
Utagawa Hiroshige, Kanbara, Night Snow from the series “Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido”
This video explores a snowy scene from a famous Japanese woodblock print series titled Fifty-Three Stations of Tokaido, published between 1832 and 1834 by print designer Andō Hiroshige.
March in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
What did March look like in the Middle Ages? A famous illuminated manuscript gives us insight!
What is a cartoon? | Leonardo da Vinci’s Burlington House Cartoon
A large drawing by Leonardo da Vinci shows an intimate grouping of figures: Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary, the infant Jesus Christ, and John the Baptist. The work is known as a “cartoon.”
Elizabeth Catlett, Sharecropper
This video examines Elizabeth Catlett's powerful linocut print, "Sharecropper," created after her move to Mexico City in 1946 to work at the Taller de Gráfica Popular.
What is a byobu? | Ogata Korin’s Landscape
A gorgeous Japanese byōbu by the 18th-century artist Ogata Kōrin helps explain what a byōbu is.
How to Do a Visual Analysis in Art History: A Formal Analysis of Sculpture
This video explains how to do a visual analysis (formal analysis) of a sculpture—the Mexica (Aztec) statue of Coatlicue.
What is Kufic?
This video looks at the beautiful calligraphic script known as Kufic that was used in early manuscripts of the Qur’an.
What is Neoclassicism?
Jacques-Louis David's The Death of Socrates is one of the best expressions of Neoclassicism paintings in Art History—find out why!
What is bird-and-flower painting in East Asia? | Emperor Huizong's Finches and Bamboo
Explore bird-and-flower genre paintings in the history of Chinese art through an analysis of an ink painting titled Finches and Bamboo by Song dynasty emperor Huizong.
February in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
What did February look like in the Middle Ages? A famous illuminated manuscript gives us insight!
Traditional Chinese Ink Painting
Explore traditional Chinese ink painting with one of the most famous examples from the Yuan dynasty!
What is Cuneiform? Mesopotamians and Ancient Writing Systems
This video explores cuneiform writing, one of the world's oldest writing systems, originating in Mesopotamia over 5,000 years ago.
What is an atlatl?
This video focuses on what an atlatl, or spearthrower, is in Mesoamerica.
What is continuous narrative? | The Great Departure relief at the Great Stupa at Sanchi
Because early Buddhist art is aniconic, we explain the symbols used to depict the Buddha’s presence in this scene and show how they repeat from right to left to illustrate how his story unfolds.
What is Rococo Art?
Fragonard's The Swing embodies the Rococo, an 18th-century art movement, which is one of the most distinctive in art history for its elegance, sensuality, and fascination with pleasure.
An Introduction to the Ancient Maya
This overview reading about the ancient Maya of Mesoamerica covers topics such as geography and land, Classic period cities such as Palenque and Tikal, religion and rituals, writing, art, calendars, the ballgame, conflict, and the living Maya.
How to Do a Visual Analysis in Art History: An Ancient Chinese Bronze Vessel
This video explains how to do a visual analysis (formal analysis) of a 5th-century BCE Chinese bronze vessel.