Millais, John Everett (1829-1896) A Souvenir of Velazquez 1868 Oil on canvas, 102.7 x 82.4 cm Royal Academy of Arts, London The expressionistic brushwork and broad colouring of Millais‘s diploma work contrasts with the restrained naturalism of his earlier Pre-Raphaelite paintings. This…
Cellini, Benvenuto (1500-1571) Saliera (Salt Cellar) 1540–1543 Gold, enamel, ebony, ivory, 28.5 × 21.5 × 26.3 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna The only extant work in gold by this Florentine artist already famous during his lifetime, Cellini’s masterpiece is far more than a…
Picasso, Pablo (1881-1973) La Muse (The Muse) 1935 Oil on canvas, 130 x 162 cm Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris Returning to a peaceful climate, Picasso painted two Inspiration figures, one drawing its own reflection in the mirror, the other sleeping. The…
Kahlo, Frida (1907-1954) El marco (The Frame) 1938 Oil on aluminum, framed in glass, 28.5 × 20.7 cm Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris This uncompromising self-portrait depicts the artist’s face free of the stereo-typical female aesthetics dictated by social convention. Frida Kahlo…
Lippi, Filippino (1457-1504) Incontro di Gioacchino e Anna fuori dalla Porta Aurea di Gerusalemme (Meeting of Joachim and Anne outside the Golden Gate of Jerusalem) 1497 Tempera on panel, 112.5 x 124 cm Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen Filippino Lippi first studied…
Monet, Claude (1840-1926) Une allée du jardin de Monet à Giverny (An alley in Monet’s garden in Giverny) 1902 Oil on canvas, 89.5 × 92.3 cm Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna It is late summer. The leaves and flowers seem to shimmer, splashes…
Monet, Claude (1840-1926) La Promenade avec le pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil (The Promenade with the Railroad Bridge, Argenteuil) 1874 Oil on canvas, 53.7 x 72.1 cm Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis This work was painted in the year…
Boucher, François (1703-1770) Portrait de Madame de Pompadour (Portrait of Madame Pompadour) 1756 Oil on canvas, 205 × 161 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich Madame de Pompadour was the official mistress of King Louis XV of France. She gained great influence and also…
Manet, Édouard (1832-1883) Devant le miroir (Before the Mirror) 1876 Oil on canvas, 93 x 71.6 cm Guggenheim Museum, New York In 1865 Edouard Manet shocked Parisian audiences at the Salon with his painting Olympia (1863), an unabashed depiction of a prostitute…
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (1841-1919) Jeune fille lisant (Reading Girl) 1880 Oil on canvas, 57 x 47.5 cm Städel Museum, Frankfurt Renoir, like all Impressionists, was interested in motifs from everyday life. This way he could show his models in private moments: by concentrating…