Fontana, Lavinia (1552-1614) Visita della regina di Saba al re Salomone (The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon) 1599 Oil on canvas, 256 x 325 cm National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin In 1872, just eight years after first opening…
Bellini, Giovanni (c.1430-1516) Presentazione di Gesù al Tempio (Presentation of Jesus in the Temple) c.1470 Oil on wood, 82 x 106 cm Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venezia Image: © Fondazione Querini Stampalia Onlus, Venezia The Presentation at the Temple is one of…
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Adorazione dei Magi (Adoration of the Magi) c.1557–1560 Oil on canvas, 223 × 120 cm Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milano Painted around 1559–60, the painting has much in common with Titian’s mature works. The rendering of the sky is interesting, for the…
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Uomo in armatura (Man in Armour) c.1530 Oil on canvas, 65 x 58 cm Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milano In his Musaeum Federico Borromeo writes that “Titian would have wanted to paint his father like this, armour-clad, to celebrate in a playful…
Courbet, Gustave (1819-1877) La Rencontre ou Bonjour Monsieur Courbet (The Meeting or Hello M. Courbet) 1854 Oil on canvas, 132.40 x 151 cm Musée Fabre, Montpellier Montpellier, painted by the artist for Alfred Bruyas (1821-1877), 1854; gift from Alfred Bruyas to the…
Monet, Claude (1840-1926) Portrait de Bazille (Portrait of Bazille) 1864 Oil on wood, 40.50 x 31.50 cm Musée Fabre, Montpellier Recent research has returned this beautiful painting to Monet, and dated it to 1864 when, staying in Honfleur, Monet and Bazille worked…
Tintoretto, Jacopo (1518-1594) Autoritratto (Self-Portrait) c.1546–1548 Oil on canvas, 45.1 × 38.1 cm Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia This dramatically intimate self-portrait announced the arrival of a new talent on the Venetian art scene; Tintoretto painted it when he was just beginning…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) Sketch of The Knight with the Falcon, known as the “Crusader” 1659–1661 Oil on canvas, 68.5 x 55.5 cm Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen Surrounded by darkness, a face brightens up to meet the viewer. The eyes hold us tight.…
Antonello da Messina (c.1430-1479) San Benedetto (Saint Benedict) 1473 Oil on panel, 125 x 63 cm Museo Regionale, Messina This is the right panel of the Saint Gregory Polyptych. Antonello da Messina (c.1430-1479) Polittico di San Gregorio 1473 Museo Regionale, Messina See…
Hals, Frans (c.1582-1666) René Descartes 1647–1648 Oil on oak wood, 19 x 14 cm Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen The small painting has been dealt a hard time. Someone has scratched zigzag lines with a pointed object all over the painting. But…