Jordaens, Jacob (1593-1678) Virgin and Child with Saints Zacharias, Elizabeth and John the Baptist c.1620 Oil on canvas, 114 x 153 cm National Gallery, London We are watching an intimate family moment, apparently unnoticed. Two children are being introduced – they…
Cassatt, Mary (1844-1926) Mother Combing Her Child’s Hair c.1901 Pastel on gray paper, 64.1 x 80.3 cm Brooklyn Museum, New York
Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890) La Berceuse, portret van Madame Roulin (La Berceuse, Portrait of Madame Roulin) 1888–1889 Oil on canvas, 92 × 72.5 cm Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo (F 504, JH 1665) She who rocks the cradle In Arles, Van Gogh befriended the…
Ghirlandaio, Domenico (1448-1494) Giovanna degli Albizzi Tornabuoni 1489–1490 Mixed media on panel, 77 x 49 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid This superb panel is a fine example of fifteenth-century Florentine portraiture. Artists of the time followed classical dictates: body proportions were idealised while…
Hals, Frans (c.1582-1666) The Laughing Cavalier 1624 Oil on canvas, 83 x 67.3 cm Wallace Collection, London A highly gifted portraitist, Frans Hals had a supreme ability to characterise his sitters and make them appear lifelike. This exuberant portrait of a…
Hals, Frans (c.1582-1666) Portrait of a Woman c.1648 Oil on canvas, 108 x 80 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris Dated around 1648 and perhaps, according to Grimm, a work by Jan Hals, in comparison with the latter’s Portrait of a Lady,…
Campin, Robert (c.1378-1444) A Man c.1435 Oil with egg tempera on oak, 40.7 x 28.1 cm National Gallery, London This striking portrait of a man in a red hat forms a pair with Campin’s A Woman – the sitters were clearly husband…
Campin, Robert (c.1378-1444) A Woman c.1435 Oil with egg tempera on oak, 40.6 x 28.1 cm National Gallery, London This striking portrait of a woman forms a pair with Campin’s portrait A Man: the sitters were clearly married. We don’t know…
Memling, Hans (c.1430-1494) A Young Man at Prayer c.1475 Oil on oak, 39 x 25.4 cm National Gallery, London A pale young man, hands folded in prayer, is engaged in private devotions. The book is presumably a prayer book or a Book…
Nadar (1820-1910) Honoré Daumier 1856–1858 Salted paper print, 24.4 x 17.9 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington This portrait of the renowned caricaturist and painter Honoré Daumier was possibly not a commissioned work, but the result of a voluntary engagement with a…