Francis Bacon

(1909–1992) The artist’s works: Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion 1944 Tate Britain, London Study for a Portrait 1952 Tate Britain, London Study for Crouching Nude 1952 Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Study for ‘Portrait of Van Gogh IV’…

Infant Hercules Strangling Serpents (1786)

Reynolds, Joshua (1723-1792) Infant Hercules Strangling Serpents 1786 Oil on canvas, 303 x 297 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg In 1785 Joshua Reynolds, President of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, was commissioned by Catherine II of Russia to paint…

Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus (1788)

Reynolds, Joshua (1723-1792) Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus 1788 Oil on canvas, 127.5 x 101 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg This is an autograph version of Reynolds‘s famous picture of 1784, painted for Lord Carysfort (now Tate Gallery, London). Carysfort,…

Continence of Scipio (1789)

Reynolds, Joshua (1723-1792) Continence of Scipio 1789 Oil on canvas, 239.5 x 165.5 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg In 1785 the British diplomat Lord Carysfort was entrusted with a commission to Reynolds for two paintings, one for Catherine the Great of…

Madonna Conestabile (c.1504)

Raffaello (1483-1520) Madonna Conestabile (Conestabile Madonna) c.1504 Tempera on canvas (handed over from panel), 17.5 x 18 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Raphael entered the history of Italian art as the “genius of harmony”. The ideals of the High Renaissance were…

Sacra Famiglia (1506-1507)

Raffaello (1483-1520) Sacra Famiglia (Holy Family, Madonna with Beardless Joseph) 1506–1507 Tempera, oil on canvas (handed over from panel), 72.5 x 56.5 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Raphael painted this Holy Family during his stay in Florence, possibly for the ruler…

Femme sur la plage (1887)

Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre (1824-1898) Femme sur la plage (Woman on the Beach) 1887 Oil on paper on canvas, 75.3 x 74.5 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg