Pala di San Gerolamo (c.1490)

Botticini, Francesco (1446-1498) Pala di San Gerolamo (S. Gerolamo Altarpiece) c.1490 Tempera on poplar, 235 × 258 cm National Gallery, London The S. Gerolamo Altarpiece, named after the saint prominently depicted at its centre and the church where it originally stood, is…

Christ Mocked (c.1510)

Bosch, Hieronymus (c.1450-1516) Christ Mocked (The Crowning with Thorns) c.1510 Oil on oak, 73.8 × 59 cm National Gallery, London Christ stares calmly out at us from the heart of this picture, his serenity a vivid contrast to the brutality of…

La foire aux chevaux (1855)

Bonheur, Rosa (1822-1899) La foire aux chevaux (The Horse Fair) 1855 Oil on canvas, 120 × 254.6 cm National Gallery, London This is a painting of sheer animal power. Brilliant white light builds up the turbulence and excitement of the scene.…

Santi Andrea e Tommaso (before 1627)

Bernini, Gian Lorenzo (1598-1680) Santi Andrea e Tommaso (Saints Andrew and Thomas) before 1627 Oil on canvas, 61.5 × 78.1 cm National Gallery, London Gian Lorenzo Bernini was one of the most successful sculptors and architects of seventeenth-century Rome. This image…

La fortezza di Königstein vista da Nord (1756-1758)

Bellotto, Bernardo (1721-1780) La fortezza di Königstein vista da Nord (The Fortress of Königstein from the North) 1756–1758 Oil on canvas, 132.1 × 236.2 cm National Gallery, London Sharp and angular, the Saxon fortress of Königstein, about 25 miles southeast of…