Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) The Geographer (De geograaf) 1669 Oil on canvas, 52 x 45 cm Städel Museum, Frankfurt The geographer has just been measuring distances on a map with his compass; now, he pauses for thought. The globe and the map…
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) The Concert (Het concert) 1663–1666 Oil on canvas, 72.5 x 64.7 cm Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston In a pristine domestic parlor, two women and a man concentrate on making music. The standing woman holds a sheet of…
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) The Astronomer (De astronoom) 1668 Oil on canvas 51 x 45 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris Celestial globe by J. Hondius (1600) and astronomy manual by Metius (1621) opening to the chapter devoted to the stars, with engraving…
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) Mistress and Maid (Dame en dienstbode) c.1666–1667 Oil on canvas, 90.2 x 78.7 cm Frick Collection, New York Vermeer chose a large canvas for this composition, which presents two women pondering a newly arrived letter. Depicting an interior…
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Christus in het huis van Martha en Maria) 1654–1656 Oil on canvas, 158.5 x 141.5 cm Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (1841-1919) Le Garçon au chat (Young Boy with a Cat) 1868 Oil on canvas, 123.5 x 66 cm Musée d’Orsay, Paris The Boy with the Cat has not given up all its secrets. This male nude has no equivalent in…
Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890) The Potato Eaters (De aardappeleters) 1885 Oil on canvas mounted on panel, 73.9 x 95.2 cm Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo (F 78, JH 734) Test of mastery The potato eaters is the most ambitious painting of Van Gogh’s…
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 Dormition of the Virgin c.1564 Oil on panel, 67.7 x 85.3 x 12.6 cm Upton House and Gardens, England This ‘grisaille’, or grey monochrome painting, shows the death of the Virgin, attended by the…
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…