Hals, Frans (c.1582-1666) Young Man holding a Skull (Vanitas) 1626–1628 Oil on canvas, 92.2 × 80.8 cm National Gallery, London A life-size figure stands before us, holding a skull in one hand and gesticulating with the other. Shown close up, the…
Ghirlandaio, Domenico (1448-1494) Madonna col Bambino (The Virgin and Child) c.1480–1490 Tempera on poplar, 88.9 × 57.8 cm National Gallery, London The Christ Child looks up at the Virgin Mary, raising the index finger of his right hand as though he…
Fantin-Latour, Henri (1836-1904) Autoportrait (Self Portrait) 1860 Oil on canvas, 31.4 × 25.4 cm National Gallery, London On loan from Tate: Bequeathed by Hans Velten 1931. Fantin-Latour painted a number of self portraits in the years 1854–61 which were characterised by…
Daubigny, Charles-François (1817-1878) Honoré Daumier probably 1870–1876, but possibly 1867–1868 Oil on canvas, 76.2 × 62.9 cm National Gallery, London Portraits by Daubigny are quite rare, as he was primarily a landscape painter who was closely associated with the Barbizon group.…
Cézanne, Paul (1839-1906) Autoportrait (Self Portrait) 1880–1881 Oil on canvas, 34.7 × 27 cm National Gallery, London Cézanne was about 40 years old when he painted this self portrait in his apartment in Paris around 1880–1. This was a significant period in…
Carriera, Rosalba (1675-1757) Ritratto di un uomo (Portrait of a Man) 1720s Pastel on paper, 57.8 × 47 cm National Gallery, London An unknown man looks out from this portrait with a self-assured stare. His rosy lips, soft eyes and pale, youthful…
Bosch, Hieronymus (c.1450-1516) Christ Mocked (The Crowning with Thorns) c.1510 Oil on oak, 73.8 × 59 cm National Gallery, London Christ stares calmly out at us from the heart of this picture, his serenity a vivid contrast to the brutality of…
Bernini, Gian Lorenzo (1598-1680) Santi Andrea e Tommaso (Saints Andrew and Thomas) before 1627 Oil on canvas, 61.5 × 78.1 cm National Gallery, London Gian Lorenzo Bernini was one of the most successful sculptors and architects of seventeenth-century Rome. This image…
Modigliani, Amedeo (1884-1920) Madam Pompadour 1915 Oil on canvas, 61.1 × 50.2 cm Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Born of Jewish parents in the Italian coastal town of Leghorn, Amedeo Modigliani settled in Paris in 1906, where he developed friendships with Pablo…
Géricault, Théodore (1791-1824) Tête d’homme guillotiné (Head of a Guillotined Man) 1818–1819 Oil on panel, 48.5 × 29.6 cm Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Théodore Géricault painted this macabre image directly from life. The artist is known to have acquired corpses from…