Art News

Van Gogh peers out of the canvas with a sidelong, suspicious glance. With hollowed cheeks and a full beard, the painter is recognizable but also doesn’t look as composed and self-possessed as in his numerous other self-portraits. The painting’s surface is rough, with thick brushstrokes that are ragged and aggressive, less precise and controlled than in Van Gogh’s other works.

The immensely popular official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama are hitting the road next year, and may be coming to a city near you. The National Portrait Gallery has announced a five-city tour that will bring the famed paintings to new museums and new audiences.

For an emperor whose legacy was condemned after his death, Nero is surprisingly present in Rome today, especially now that his two palaces are again open to the public.

If you look closely at any hand-drawn animated feature, you’ll notice the backgrounds are beautifully painted while the characters are flat. Animators for Klaus saw this as an opportunity for improvement.

As hype builds for the July festivities, we’re getting a preview of the spirit of the games through twenty artist-created posters now on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

Ever feel like you’re immortal, with the strength of a thousand suns — eternal and invincible? Yeah, me too. But guess what? There’s a form of art that was intended to remind you constantly of your unavoidable, inevitable, permanent death. It’s a memento mori!

Artist Maurizio Cattelan duct taped a banana to a wall, titled it "Comedian", and sold 5 editions of the artwork for as much as $150,000 each. Why did it capture our attention, curiosity, and memes? What does it mean?

Coming soon from Art & Object: The Art Buzz podcast! Art Buzz is your VIP pass to the art world.

This short video gives an overview of Jean-François Millet's life. The Realist master is remembered for his powerful depictions of rural French life.

The darkest color in the world was unveiled earlier this year. It’s the result of a first-of-its-kind collaboration between art and science.