by Lindsay Shapka in Art, Art History, Artists, Travel
In the year 1668, Louis XIV began his expansion of a small chateau into what we now know as the opulent Palace of Versailles.
Every surface and object in the palace was painstakingly designed and created by thousands of artists in the Royal Academy, led by the three head designers — Le Vau, Charles Le Brun, and Andre Le Notre — in order to create a palace fit for the Sun King and his court of almost 20,000.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Art, Art History, Artists, Travel
There are A LOT of art galleries in Paris, and it is impossible to see them all on your first, second, or even third visit to the city.
So, I’ve put together a list of the top six galleries that you must visit based on the uniqueness of their collections, the space that the art is housed, and their location in the city. (They also all have fantastic museum shops, if you are interested in art books or unique souvenirs!)
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Art, Art History, Artists, Travel, travel tips
There is SO much to see at the Louvre in Paris, but after purchasing their entry ticket most visitors head straight to the Denon Wing and the Mona Lisa. (Read this post to find out why the Mona Lisa is such a big deal.)
The galleries in this wing, housing the Decorative Arts and the Italian, Spanish, and French paintings (also made famous from the movie The Da Vinci Code), are packed with tourists waiting their turn to stand in front Mona.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Art, Art History, Artists, Travel, travel tips
There are A LOT of museums in Paris, and it is impossible to see them all on your first, second, or even third visit to the city.
In fact, I didn't make it to the Centre Pompidou until my third time to the city — and was that ever a mistake! Not only is the exterior of the building a must-see, the museum is home to over 100,000 works created in the 20th and 21st centuries, and an INCREDIBLE view.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Art, Art History, Artists, Travel
The Berlin Wall cut through the center of Berlin from August of 1961 to November of 1989, separating the Soviet Union from Western powers. More than just a wall though, it was a complex military system that rose more than 12 feet high and had 302 towers, 12,000 guards and countless kilometers of barbed wire.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Artists, Art, Art History, Travel
In 1501, Michelangelo (yes, the same guy who painted the famous Sistine Chapel located in the Vatican in Rome) accepted a commission to carve a marble sculpture of the biblical David to be placed high atop a buttress on the Florentine Cathedral.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Art, Artists, Travel
If you’ve never been to New York before, The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art) might seem like it’s just another museum in the longgggg list of museums and art galleries that are on must-see lists for the city. But it is not just like the others, ohhhhhhh no my friend, it is not.
Here are 10 reasons why you need to add visiting The Met to your New York travel list.
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