Antonello da Messina (c.1430-1479) Ritratto d’uomo (Portrait of a Man) c.1475–1476 Oil on poplar, 35.6 x 25.4 cm National Gallery, London This small painting shows how Antonello revolutionised Venetian portraiture in the late fifteenth century: the three-quarter pose, dark background and…
Antonello da Messina (c.1430-1479) Madonna Salting (The Virgin and Child) c.1460–1469 Oil on wood, 43.2 x 34.3 cm National Gallery, London The Virgin Mary glances down at her baby son, Christ, who clutches a pomegranate in his tiny fist. The fruit,…
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) Pensando en la Muerte (Thinking about Death) 1943 Oil on canvas on masonite, 45.1 x 36.8 cm Private collection
Manet, Édouard (1832-1883) Portrait de Mademoiselle Claus (Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus) 1868 Oil on canvas, 115.7 x 72.8 cm Ashmolean Museum, Oxford After twice failing the entrance exam to train as a naval officer, Édouard Manet (1832–83) went to Paris to pursue…
Matisse, Henri (1869-1954) Le Madras Rouge (Red Madras Headdress) 1907 Oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Image © 2013 The Barnes Foundation ©2011 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York This striking portrait represents Amelie…
Dürer, Albrecht (1471-1528) Portrait of Barbara Dürer, née Holper (Porträt der Barbara Dürer, geb. Holper) c.1490 Oil on panel, 47.5 x 39.5 cm Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg See also: • Dürer, Barbara (c.1451-1514)
Dürer, Albrecht (1471-1528) Portrait of Albrecht Dürer the Elder (Bildnis des Albrecht Dürer des Älteren) 1497 Oil on lime, 51 x 40.3 cm National Gallery, London The inscription at the top of this picture tells us the sitter is Dürer’s father, Albrecht…
Munch, Edvard (1863-1944) Self-Portrait (Selvportrett) 1882 Oil on canvas, 26 × 19 cm Munch Museum, Oslo
Van Eyck, Jan (c.1390-1441) Portrait of a Man (Léal Souvenir) 1432 Oil on oak, 33.3 x 18.9 cm National Gallery, London This small portrait is puzzling in many ways. We don‘t know who this man was or why he is holding…
Van Eyck, Jan (c.1390-1441) Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?) 1433 Oil on oak, 26 x 19 cm National Gallery, London This man, his face impassive and his gaze intense, is almost certainly Jan van Eyck himself. No other portraits of…