Painting

Van Gogh Paintings: Reading the Palette, Then and Now

Van Gogh painted for barely ten years. His palette dates the work almost to the season, and conservation research shows how much of that colour has since moved.

Monet's Water Lilies Series: A Motif He Built Himself

The Water Lilies series is roughly 250 to 300 Monet canvases over 30 years. He had the pond dug first, sized the late panels to a spec and designed their room.

Mona Lisa: Did the 1911 Theft Really Make It Famous?

The 1911 theft is the usual explanation for the Mona Lisa's fame. Guidebooks and Louvre copyist records from before the theft tell a more complicated story.

Gustav Klimt: The Gold Leaf and the Looted Portraits

Gustav Klimt used real gold, silver and platinum leaf. Three of his paintings burned in 1945, and the 2004 US Supreme Court case decided less than you think.