Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Amor sacro e amor profano (Sacred and Profane Love) 1515–1516 Oil on canvas, 118 x 278 cm Galleria Borghese, Roma This work was probably sold to Scipione Borghese in 1608 by Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati. A veritable interpretative enigma, critics…
Caillebotte, Gustave (1848-1894) Le déjeuner (Luncheon) 1876 Oil on canvas, 52 x 75 cm Private collection
Arcimboldo, Giuseppe (1526-1593) Il Cuoco (The Cook) c.1570 Oil on wood, 52.5 x 41 cm Nationalmuseum, Stockholm “Reversible head” which allows for a dual interpretation when turned upside-down.
Dalí, Salvador (1904-1989) Nature Morte Vivante (Living Still Life) 1956 Oil on canvas, 125 x 160 cm Salvador Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) The Girl with the Wineglass (Maedchen mit weinglas) c.1658–1659 Oil on canvas, 78 x 67 cm Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig Compare: Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) The Glass of Wine 1658–1660 Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) Diana and her nymphs (Diana en haar Nimfen) c.1653–1654 Oil on canvas, 97.8 x 104.6 cm Mauritshuis, The Hague Signed lower left, on the rock, between the dog and the thistle: JVMeer VM in ligature Vermeer is best…
Bellini, Giovanni (c.1430-1516) Il festino degli dei (The Feast of the Gods) 1514 Oil on canvas, 170 x 188 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington Six women, eight men, two satyrs, and one child gather in pairs and trios in a…
Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890) The Potato Eaters (De Aardappeleters) 1885 Oil on canvas, 82 x 114 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam F0082-JH0764 Nuenen, April-May 1885 Van Gogh saw the Potato Eaters as a showpiece, for which he deliberately chose a difficult…
Bruegel the Elder, Pieter (c.1525-1569) The Peasant Wedding c.1568 Oil on oak, 113 × 164 × 3.2 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna The apparent “snapshot” of this picture is in fact carefully composed. Dispensing with allegorical meaning the painting is a realistic…
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) L’Ultima Cena (The Last Supper) 1494–1498 Dry wall-painting, 460 x 880 cm Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano Leonardo did not use the traditional fresco technique to paint the Last Supper and the lunettes. He chose a method that…