Author: Grace Patane

La sfida delle Pieridi (c.1523-1527)

Rosso Fiorentino (1495-1540) La sfida delle Pieridi (The Challenge of the Pierides) c.1523–1527 Oil on wood transferred to canvas, 31 x 63 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris A rare mythological subject This small painting represents an episode reported by Ovid in…

El Cid (1879)

Bonheur, Rosa (1822-1899) El Cid 1879 Oil on canvas, 95 x 76 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid During the Franco-Prussian War, Rosa Bonheur developed a singular fondness for lions. According to Anna Klumpke, her partner in the final years of her…

Étude pour “Une baignade à Asnières” (c.1883-1884)

Seurat, Georges (1859-1891) Étude pour “Une baignade à Asnières” (Study for “Bathers at Asnières”) c.1883–1884 Oil on wood panel, 32 x 41 x 5 cm Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Seurat’s approach to painting differed greatly from the Impressionist painters who…

Jean Cocteau (1916)

Modigliani, Amedeo (1884-1920) Jean Cocteau 1916 Oil on canvas, 100.4 x 81.3 cm Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton Modigliani moved from his native Italy to Paris in 1906 and soon became part of the city’s vibrant artistic and literary culture. His…

The Salutation of Beatrice (1869)

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (1828-1882) The Salutation of Beatrice 1869 Oil on canvas, 57.1 x 47 cm Private collection Inscription with a sonnet from Dante‘s Vita Nuova (The New Life). Beatrice Portinari was the Florentine girl who represented the ideal of…

L’iris (1895)

Bouguereau, William-Adolphe (1825-1905) L’iris (Woman with Iris) 1895 Oil on canvas, 46 x 38 cm Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton Among the most successful academic painters of the late nineteenth century, Bouguereau received numerous official honors from the French art establishment.…

Queen Eleanor and the Fair Rosamund (1901-1902)

De Morgan, Evelyn (1855-1919) Queen Eleanor and the Fair Rosamund Probably 1901–1902 Oil on canvas, 75.6 x 66.7 cm De Morgan Collection Rosamund was the mistress of Henry II, who built a house for her at Woodstock in Oxfordshire. Legends say…