Brian Ochoaller

Who They Were and Why They Mattered The Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood started in 1848, right in the grit of industrial era England. The art world then was all about polished technique and rigid rules pushed by the Royal Academy. These guys Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, and William Holman Hunt weren’t buying it. They […]

Setting the Scene: America in the Aftermath of WWII World War II left more than just cities in ruins. It upended cultural power structures. For decades, Paris had been the gravitational center of the art world a haven for avant garde thinking. But with Europe shattered, artists scattered, and American confidence rising, that center of

The World That Birthed Dada In 1916, Europe was submerged in chaos. Four years into World War I, cities were crumbling, generations were disappearing in trenches, and faith in politics, religion, and reason itself was cracking. What had modernity delivered, if not mass death and disillusionment? While governments spun propaganda and generals drew up casualty

Why 19th Century Art Needed a Shakeup In 19th century France, the Académie des Beaux Arts dictated nearly every aspect of what could and couldn’t be considered “real art.” From technique down to subject matter, it was about strict lines, heavy finishes, and themes that stuck to classical, religious, or historical borders. Painters were expected

Setting the Scene: Europe in Transformation The 17th and 18th centuries were anything but quiet for Europe. This was an age defined by extremes religious fervor, political absolutism, and staggering displays of wealth. Monarchs ruled with tight control, the Catholic Church loomed large, and the aristocracy curated culture with precision. Art didn’t sit on the