Art & Design

Much of what is known of Artemisia Gentileschi comes from her testimony in the trial of a painter who raped her. "Now we try to go back and fill in and properly understand," says a curator.

Claude Monet died 90 years ago, but his famous water lilies still have power over viewers. What's the secret to their staying power? It might have to do with their creator's particular attachment to his garden in Giverny, France.

The Smithsonian show isn't about the words of the Quran so much as the people who laboriously copied it, letter by letter. When they made a mistake, they fixed it with flourish — and sometimes gold.

The work of art is meant to honor the victims of the November 2015 terrorist attacks. Construction is already underway on Bouquet of Tulips -- but not all Parisians are pleased with the gift.

Skin tone is only part of the challenge for an oft-tattooed customer who wants to see herself reflected in the "human canvases" of tattoo artists.

Clara Peeters, a 17th century Flemish painter, hid tiny self-portraits in her still life paintings. She wasn't a household name, then or now, and just 40 or so of her paintings have survived.