Rembrandt (1606-1669) Self-Portrait 1660 Oil on canvas, 80.3 x 67.3 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Rembrandt was a dedicated self-portraitist all his life, and roughly forty self-portraits by him survive today. In this example, painted when Rembrandt was fifty-four,…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) The Toilet of Bathsheba 1643 Oil on wood, 57.2 x 76.2 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Rembrandt shows the biblical figure Bathsheba completely nude, lost in a moment of contemplation and unaware that she is being observed…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Achilles Discovered among the Daughters of Lycomedes 1680 Oil on canvas, 138 x 190 cm Mauritshuis, The Hague This painting by De Lairesse is a typical example of the style that came into fashion in Holland…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Abraham receiving the three angels of the Lord c.1680–1685 Oil on canvas, 120 x 164 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris Episode taken from the Bible (Genesis, XVIII, 6-15). In the background, Sarah, Abraham’s old wife, who will…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Maternal Love (Caritas) c.1685 Oil on canvas, 57 x 48.5 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Bacchus and Ariadne c.1680 Oil on canvas, 175.2 x 92.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (on loan from Mauritshuis, The Hague) Ovid described the following scene in his Metamorphoses: on the island of Naxos, Bacchus, the god of wine, chances upon…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Mercury Ordering Calypso to Release Odysseus c.1680 Oil on canvas, 132 x 96 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam During his wanderings, Odysseus encounters the nymph Calypso, who falls in love with him and holds him captive on her island.…
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…