Velázquez, Diego (1599-1660) Felipe IV, a caballo (Philip IV on horseback) c.1635 Oil on canvas, 303 x 317 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid Of the equestrian portraits painted for the Hall of Realms, this is the only one with a…
Velázquez, Diego (1599-1660) Felipe IV (Philip IV) 1626–1628 Oil on canvas, 57 x 44 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid This is an extraordinary example of the eventful life of many royal portraits during the Siglo de Oro, and it shows…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) The Resurrection c.1635–1639 Oil on canvas, transferred to oak wood, 91.9 x 67 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich The so-called ‘Passion Cycle’ was painted for the stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, Prince Frederik Hendrik of Orange. The…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) The Entombment c.1635–1639 Oil on canvas, 92.5 x 68.9 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich The so-called ‘Passion Cycle’ was painted for the stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, Prince Frederik Hendrik of Orange. The six paintings however do…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) The Woman taken in Adultery 1644 Oil on oak, 83.8 x 65.4 cm National Gallery, London A woman kneels and weeps. Darkness like a great cavern surrounds her. A shaft of light picks her out on the stone…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) The Denial of St Peter 1660 Oil on canvas, 154.5 x 169.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam While Christ is being questioned by the high priests in the dead of night, Peter waits outside. A maidservant recognizes him as one…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Odysseus and Calypso c.1680 Oil on canvas, 125 x 94 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The Greek poet Homer recounts how the heroic warrior Odysseus found refuge on the island of the nymph Calypso. The Trojan War is over:…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Cleopatra’s Banquet c.1675–1680 Oil on canvas, 74 x 95.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Cleopatra made a bet with Mark Antony on who could give the most lavish banquet. She won by dissolving a priceless pearl in vinegar and…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Venus Giving Arms to Aeneas (Venus schenkt wapens aan Aeneas) 1668 Oil on canvas, 161.8 x 165.8 cm Museum Mayer van den Bergh, Antwerp In the 17th century, classicism broke through, also in golden Holland. Artists…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Apollo and Aurora 1671 Oil on canvas, 204.5 x 193.4 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Largely forgotten today, De Lairesse was celebrated in his lifetime as a painter and advocate for an idealizing manner based…