Courbet, Gustave (1819-1877) Femme aux pigeons (Woman with Pigeons) c.1865 Oil on canvas, 79.7 x 60.6 cm Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Though Gustave Courbet was best known for his early paintings of French peasants, in later decades he focused on scenes of animals,…
Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640) Venus Frigida (Cold Venus) 1614 Oil on panel, 143 x 184 x 3.8 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp The title refers to Terence: “sine Cerere et Baccho friget Venus” (“without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus freezes”)…
Van Dyck, Anthony (1599-1641) The Lamentation over the Dead Christ c.1640 Oil on canvas, 115.5 × 207.5 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp Christ’s dead body is laid out across the entrance to a cave, his head resting on Mary’s…
Modigliani, Amedeo (1884-1920) Nu assis (Sitting Nude) 1917 Oil on canvas, 114.5 × 71.5 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp
Veronese, Paolo (1528-1588) Annunciazione (Annunciation) 1578 Oil on canvas, 271 x 541 cm Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venezia
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) San Giovanni Battista (Saint John the Baptist) c.1540–1542 Oil on canvas, 201 x 119 cm Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venezia
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Pietà 1575–1576 Oil on canvas, 353 x 347 cm Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venezia Detail with Titian’s self-portrait as an old man kneeling before Christ.
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Madonna col Bambino (Madonna and Child) c.1560–1565 Oil on canvas, 124 x 96 cm Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venezia
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) San Sebastiano (St Sebastian) c.1576 Oil on canvas, 210 x 115.5 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg One of Titian’s most staggering works in terms of its tragic spirit is St Sebastian. What a gulf separates him from the placid personage…
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Maddalena penitente (Penitent Magdalene) 1560s Oil on canvas, 119 x 97 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Titian turned to the subject of the repentant Mary Magdalene on several occasions, but this version he kept for himself in his…