Watteau, Antoine (1684-1721) La danse champêtre (The Country Dance) c.1706–1710 Oil on canvas, 50 x 60.01 cm Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis In this, his earliest known painting, Watteau draws inspiration from scenes of fairs, peasant weddings, and country dances by Flemish…
Degas, Edgar (1834-1917) Le Ballet de ‘Robert Le Diable’ (The Ballet Scene from Meyerbeer’s Opera Robert Le Diable) 1876 Oil on canvas, 76.6 × 81.3 cm Victoria and Albert Museum, London Edgar Degas (1834-1917) was born in Paris where he entered the…
Degas, Edgar (1834-1917) Café-Concert 1876–1877 Pastel over monotype and charcoal (in sticks of fan) on tan laid paper and board, 23.5 x 43.2 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington
Memling, Hans (c.1430-1494) Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Barbara early 1480s Oil on wood, 68.3 x 73.3 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Memling adapted this composition from a large, celebrated altarpiece that he completed in 1479…
Gentileschi, Orazio (1563-1639) Giovane donna col violino (Young Woman with a Violin) c.1612 Oil on canvas, 83.5 × 97.8 cm Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit This image of a young woman playing the violin has traditionally been interpreted as a personification of…
Bronzino (1503-1572) Ritratto di Cosimo I de’ Medici come Orfeo (Portrait of Cosimo I de Medici as Orpheus) c.1537–1539 Oil on panel, 93.7 × 76.4 cm Philadelphia Art Museum, Philadelphia Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici is shown as the mythological musician and…
Alma-Tadema, Lawrence (1836-1912) The Egyptian Widow 1872 Oil on panel, 74.9 × 99.1 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The Frisian artist Alma-Tadema was a great success in England, where he was even knighted. His representations of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman scenes made…
Rosso Fiorentino (1495-1540) La sfida delle Pieridi (The Challenge of the Pierides) c.1523–1527 Oil on wood transferred to canvas, 31 x 63 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris A rare mythological subject This small painting represents an episode reported by Ovid in…
Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640) King David Playing the Harp c.1627–1628 Oil on panel, 44.8 x 66 cm Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia The biblical King David strums his harp, performing the music of heaven in concert with five angels. Ornate fictive architecture frames…
Giordano, Luca (1634-1705) Quattro donne che fanno musica (Four Women making Music) 1658–1660 Oil on canvas, 57 x 101.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam On loan from the Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis, May 1948. Four young women making music. Busts. The two…