Everyday A Painting

The story behind the painting

Painting stories

Every day, Everyday A Painting reveals one painting and tells its story — a cinematic camera moving across the canvas, one thought at a time. These pages tell a few of those stories in full, with sources.

Stańczyk by Jan Matejko: a jester in red slumped in a chair while the court dances behind him

Stańczyk

Jan Matejko · 1862

The jester who saw history first, while the court kept dancing.

 Ophelia by John Everett Millais: a young woman floating in a flower-strewn stream

Ophelia

John Everett Millais · 1851–1852

Shakespeare's drowning song, painted petal by petal.

 The Swing by Fragonard: a young woman on a garden swing kicking off her shoe

The Swing

Jean-Honoré Fragonard · 1767

A garden, a shoe in mid-air, and Rococo's most knowing joke.

 The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli: an incubus crouched on a sleeping woman

The Nightmare

Henry Fuseli · 1781

The painting that gave the bad dream its face.

 Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio

Judith Beheading Holofernes

Caravaggio · 1599

Baroque violence held still at the exact moment of decision.

 Requiescat by Briton Rivière: a dog keeping watch beside a knight lying in state

Requiescat

Briton Rivière · 1888

Death is still. The vigil is not.
Discover one painting a day

Everyday A Painting reveals one painting every day on iPhone — uncover it with a touch, watch its story unfold, and build a personal gallery over time. Coming to the App Store.