The world through art

Stories, objects and ideas across centuries.

Composite of the Temple of Dendur, an Assyrian lamassu, a Kushan crowned bodhisattva and a Shang bronze wine vessel. 01
Ancient Art

What Is Ancient Art? Definition, Periods, Characteristics and Famous Examples

Ancient art is the visual culture produced by early societies before the medieval or early modern periods of their regions. It includes far more than statues from Greece and tomb paintings from Egypt: temples, seals, ceramics, textiles, ritual objects, urban monuments and images made across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas all belong to its history.

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01Recently published

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02Civilisations, objects and symbols

Ancient Art

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03A deep South Asian perspective

Indian Art

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The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh
Masterpiece Explained

The Starry Night Explained: Van Gogh’s Sky, Memory and Modern Myth

The Starry Night is Vincent van Gogh’s 1889 painting of a remembered and invented night landscape made at Saint-Rémy, combining observation, imagination, expressive brushwork and a carefully structured composition.

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05Lives, ideas and major works

Artists to Know

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06Ways of seeing

Essential Art History

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Composite showing a Neolithic figurine, a Sumerian figure, a Greek kouros, a Mughal manuscript painting and Van Gogh's Cypresses.
Art History

Art History Timeline: From Prehistoric Images to Contemporary Art

Art history is not a single road from “primitive” images to modern innovation. It is a network of overlapping histories in which regions developed their own periods, exchanged materials and ideas, and responded differently to religion, empire, technology, colonialism and social change. This timeline offers a global framework without forcing every culture into a European sequence.

  1. 01How to Read a Work of Art: A Practical Visual Analysis Guide
  2. 02The Main Types of Visual Art: Painting, Sculpture, Photography and Beyond
  3. 03What Makes an Artist Important? Influence, Institutions, Scholarship and the Market
07Slow looking and deeper context

Long Reads

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Collecting

Art Provenance: Why Ownership History Matters

Art provenance is the documented history of an object’s ownership, custody and movement. It helps establish legal title, authenticity, historical context, ethical risk and market confidence.

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08Memory, ritual and preservation

Culture & Heritage

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Conservation is not the act of making an object new. It is the discipline of allowing evidence to survive.
09Knowledge before acquisition

Collecting

Collector guides →

Start with a point of view—not a shopping list.

Independent guidance on taste, provenance, pricing, care and the relationships that make a collection meaningful.

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01How to Start Collecting Art: A Serious Beginner’s GuideCollecting02How Is Art Priced? The Factors Behind Gallery and Auction ValuesCollecting03Art Provenance: Why Ownership History MattersCollecting
10Print and digital

The Current Issue

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THE EASELTHE ART OF CIVILISATIONVOLUME 1 · ISSUE 1
Volume 1 · Issue 1

The Art of Civilisation

The inaugural issue of The Easel.

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11The complete feed

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