Lorenzo di Credi (c.1459-1537) Madonna col Bambino (The Virgin and Child) c.1480–1485 Oil on wood, 71.1 × 49.5 cm National Gallery, London The Virgin Mary is seated directly in front of us. Together with swathes of drapery, she covers almost the…
Signorelli, Luca (c.1445-1523) Adorazione dei pastori (Adoration of the Shepherds) late 15th-early 16th century Oil on canvas (probably transferred from wood), 163 × 163.5 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Compare: Signorelli, Luca (c.1445-1523) Adorazione dei pastori c.1496 National Gallery, London
Vasari, Giorgio (1511-1574) Cristo in casa di Simone il fariseo (Christ in the House of Simon the Pharisee) 1544 Pen, ink, chalk and brush on paper, 55.6 x 41.4 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam This detailed drawing on blue paper is a study…
Tissot, James (1836-1902) Jeune femme descendant les marches de la National Gallery à Londres (Young woman descending the steps of the National Gallery in London) 1878 Etching, 37.8 x 21 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Compare: Tissot, James (1836-1902) London Visitors c.1874 Toledo Museum of…
Van der Weyden, Rogier (c.1399-1464) St Luke Drawing the Virgin 15th century Oil on canvas, 102.5 x 108.5 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg The subject is taken from a 6th-century legend of Greek origin, according to which St Luke was the…
David, Jacques-Louis (1748-1825) Sapho, Phaon et l’Amour (Sappho, Phaon and Cupid) 1809 Oil on canvas, 225.3 x 262 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg David is considered the founder and leading light of Neoclassicism, which dominated art in the late 18th and…
Canaletto (1697-1768) Ricevimento dell’Ambasciatore francese a Venezia (Reception of the French Ambassador in Venice) 1726–1727 Oil on canvas, 181 x 259.5 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg In the 18th century the Venetian school of painting flourished brightly, but for the last…
Lotto, Lorenzo (1480-1557) San Giuseppe e i corteggiatori della Vergine (Saint Joseph and the Virgin’s Suitors) c.1508 Oil on panel, 45 x 34.5 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid Lorenzo Lotto was forgotten by art historians until the late 19th century. It was…
Bellini, Gentile (c.1429-1507) L’Annunciazione (The Annunciation) c.1475 Mixed media on panel, 133 x 124 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid This panel of The Annunciation entered the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection from the British art market and seems to have previously been in a private…
Mantegna, Andrea (c.1431-1506) San Sebastiano (Saint Sebastian) 4th quarter of the 15th century Tempera on canvas, 255 x 140 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris Composition surrounded by a trompe-l’oeil porphyry border. Probably arrived in Aigueperse (Auvergne) on the occasion of the marriage…