Manet, Édouard (1832-1883) La Femme à l’ombrelle (The Woman with the Umbrella) 1872 Oil on canvas, 48.2 x 40 cm Private collection Staring out boldly at the viewer, a blue umbrella perched on her shoulder and dressed in an elegant black…
Allori, Alessandro (1535-1607) Maria de’ Medici c.1555 Oil on poplar, 116 x 90 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Since the early Renaissance the foremost artists and workshops in Florence had worked for the Medici. In 1570, Cosimo I became Grand-Duke of Tuscany, elevating…
Monet, Claude (1840-1926) Le déjeuner (The Luncheon) 1868–1869 Oil on canvas, 231.5 x 151 cm Städel Museum, Frankfurt Art history would probably have taken a different course if the jury of the Paris Salon had not turned down this painting by Monet…
Caillebotte, Gustave (1848-1894) Portrait de Madame X (Portrait of Madame X) 1878 Pastel, 63 x 50 cm Musée Fabre, Montpellier A central figure in Impressionism, Caillebotte trained in 1871 in the very academic studio of Léon Bonnat. While he passed the entrance…
Courbet, Gustave (1819-1877) La Rencontre ou Bonjour Monsieur Courbet (The Meeting or Hello M. Courbet) 1854 Oil on canvas, 132.40 x 151 cm Musée Fabre, Montpellier Montpellier, painted by the artist for Alfred Bruyas (1821-1877), 1854; gift from Alfred Bruyas to the…
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…
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…
Hals, Frans (c.1582-1666) Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Glove c.1640 Oil on canvas, 80 x 66.5 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg The Hermitage’s Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Glove is marked by a rapid spontaneous manner of…
Gros, Antoine-Jean (1771-1835) Bonaparte au pont d’Arcole (Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole) late 1796-early 1797 Oil on canvas, 134 x 104 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg This painting, combining a battle scene with a formal portrait, was based on the artist’s personal…
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (1841-1919) Danse à la campagne (Dance in the countryside) 1883 Oil on canvas, 180.3 x 90 cm Musée d’Orsay, Paris Renoir was fond of dance scenes. These two paintings were designed as pendants: they are of the same format and…