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…
Mantegna, Andrea (c.1431-1506) Presentazione al Tempio (Presentation in the Temple) c.1454 Tempera on wood, 77.1 x 94.4 cm Gemäldegalerie, Berlin The Presentation of Christ in the Temple is narrated in the Gospel of Saint Luke (2:21–39). Soon after his birth, Jesus was…
Bellini, Giovanni (c.1430-1516) Doge Leonardo Loredan 1501–1502 Oil on poplar, 61.4 x 44.5 cm National Gallery, London Leonardo Loredan knows that he is being looked at, but he does not return our gaze. He is the doge, the ruler of the…
Caravaggio (1571-1610) Ecce Homo c.1605 Oil on canvas, 128 x 103 cm Palazzo Bianco, Genova The canvas, the origin of which is still unclear, was recorded in the inventory of Palazzo Bianco in 1921 as being a copy by Lionello Spada of…