Memling, Hans (c.1430-1494) The Virgin and Child with two Angels 1480–1490 Oil on panel, 36 x 26 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid The Virgin appears seated in a walled garden, an allusion to the hortus conclusus or enclosed garden, which symbolizes…
Angelico, Fra (c.1395-1455) L’Annunciazione (The Annunciation) c.1426 Tempera on panel, 162.3 x 191.5 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid This altarpiece was painted for the monastery of Santo Domenico in Fiesole, near Florence. The central panel shows the Archangel Gabriel’s Annunciation to…
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (1828-1882) Study for “Venus Verticordia” c.1864 Pencil Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland
Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609) Madonna Montalto (The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist) c.1600 Oil on copper, 35 x 27.5 cm National Gallery, London Domesticity reigns in this exquisite little picture. A delightfully pretty Virgin Mary balances a squirming,…
Dürer, Albrecht (1471-1528) Arm of Eve 1507 Point of brush and gray and black wash, brush and gray and black wash, heightened with white gouache, 34.4 x 26.7 cm Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland The blue paper that Dürer used to…
Poussin, Nicolas (1594-1665) La Sainte Famille sur les marches (The Holy Family on the Steps) 1648 Oil on canvas, 73.3 x 105.8 cm Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Poussin placed small wax models in a box pierced with holes to study…
Magritte, René (1898-1967) Le Dormeur téméraire (The Reckless Sleeper) 1928 Oil on canvas, 116 × 81 x 2 cm Tate Britain, London A figure sleeps in a wooden alcove above a dark cloudy sky. The way into this space is barred…
Hunt, William Holman (1827-1910) The Light of The World 1851–1856 Oil on canvas, 49.8 x 26.1 cm Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester Painting in the shape of an arched doorway. Standing at a wooden doorway with rusted hinges and overgrown with ivy and…
Gauguin, Paul (1848-1903) Nature morte au profil de Laval (Still Life with Profile of Laval) 1886 Oil on canvas, 46 x 38 cm Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis In this enigmatic image, Gauguin’s fellow artist Charles Laval peers at an arrangement…
Pissarro, Camille (1830-1903) Nature morte: Pommes et poires dans un panier rond (Still Life: Apples and Pears in a Round Basket) 1872 Oil on canvas, 45.7 x 55.2 cm Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton One of Pissarro’s rare still lifes, this…