Hals, Frans (c.1582-1666) Portrait of a Couple (Probably Isaac Abrahamsz Massa and Beatrix van der Laen) c.1622 Oil on canvas, 140 x 166.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam This happy, smiling pair sits comfortably close to each other. Posing a couple together in…
Whistler, James Abbott McNeill (1834-1903) Pink and Gold: The Neapolitan 1897 Oil on canvas, 50 x 31 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid Carmen Rossi, the sitter of this small portrait, was an Italian girl who posed for Whistler as a child and…
Chagall, Marc (1887-1985) Bella au col blanc (Bella with White Collar) 1917 Oil on linen, 149 x 72 cm Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris The writer Bella Rosenfeld, represented here as a giantess, would be Chagall‘s muse throughout her life. Taking up…
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (1828-1882) The Salutation of Beatrice 1869 Oil on canvas, 57.1 x 47 cm Private collection Inscription with a sonnet from Dante‘s Vita Nuova (The New Life). Beatrice Portinari was the Florentine girl who represented the ideal of…
De Morgan, Evelyn (1855-1919) Queen Eleanor and the Fair Rosamund Probably 1901–1902 Oil on canvas, 75.6 x 66.7 cm De Morgan Collection Rosamund was the mistress of Henry II, who built a house for her at Woodstock in Oxfordshire. Legends say…
Gainsborough, Thomas (1727-1788) Mrs Siddons 1785 Oil on canvas, 126 × 99.5 cm National Gallery, London Mrs Siddons (1755–1831) was the greatest tragic actress of her time, remaining at the top of her profession for 30 years. Gainsborough painted her in the…
Scholderer, Otto (1834-1902) The Artist’s Wife on the Ottoman (Luise Scholderer auf der Ottomane) 1873 Oil on canvas, 69 × 82 cm Städel Museum, Frankfurt Compare: Scholderer, Otto (1834-1902) Portrait of the Artist’s Wife probably 1872–1873 National Gallery, London See also: • Steurwaldt, Luise (1837-1919)
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…
Gentileschi, Artemisia (1593-c.1653) Autoritratto come Santa Caterina d’Alessandria (Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria) c.1615–1617 Oil on canvas, 71.4 × 69 cm National Gallery, London Artemisia Gentileschi, the most celebrated female artist of the seventeenth century, appears in the guise…
Cranach, Lucas the Elder (1472-1553) Portrait of a Woman 1525–1527 Oil on wood, 35.9 × 25.1 cm National Gallery, London Cranach only painted a handful of portraits showing women of the Saxon court during his time as court painter to the…