Velázquez, Diego (1599-1660) Luis de Góngora y Argote 1622 Oil on canvas, 50.2 x 40.6 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Velázquez‘s abilities as both painter and observer make him one of the great portraitists of Western painting; this early work is…
Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609) Testa di giovane ridente (Head of a Laughing Youth) c.1585 Oil on paper on canvas, 44.5 × 29.5 cm Galleria Borghese, Roma The painting, mentioned as ‘Buffoon laughing’, has been part of the Borghese collection since 1693 and…
Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609) Agonia nell’orto (The Agony in the Garden) c.1596–1597 Oil on panel, 39.1 x 30.3 cm Royal Collection, Windsor Castle Against a dark background the figure of Christ kneels, his head turned right towards the figure of an angel in…
Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609) Testa d’uomo di profilo (Head of a Man in Profile) c.1588–1595 Oil on canvas, 44.8 x 32.1 cm Royal Collection, Windsor Castle This vivid head is precisely the type of study from everyday life practised so passionately by…
Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609) Susanna e i vecchioni (Susanna and the Elders) 1604 Oil on panel, 56.8 x 86.1 cm Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Roma This is the “Casta Susanna with the two old men” on a panel by Annibale Carracci described by…
Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609) Domine, quo vadis? (Christ appearing to Saint Peter on the Appian Way) 1601–1602 Oil on wood, 77.4 x 56.3 cm National Gallery, London Saint Peter fled Rome after Christ’s crucifixion, scared that he too would be executed by…
Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640) Self-portrait c.1638 Oil on canvas, 110 × 85.5 × 2.4 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Inscription: P.P. RUBINS (!) added later on the left of the column Despite his great successes, Rubens was always ambivalent about court life.…
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Bravo (The Bravo) c.1515–1520 Oil on canvas, 77 × 66.5 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Titian intensifies the close-up half-figure action picture developed by his teacher Giorgione into concentrated drama. The three-quarter portrait of the vine-leafed protagonist contrasts with the…
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Madonna delle ciliegie (Cherry Madonna) c.1516–1518 Oil transferred from canvas to wood, 81.6 × 100.2 × 1.1 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna On the left St. Joseph, on the right St. John the Boy and St. Zacharias. Similar to the…
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Ninfa e pastore (Nymph and shepherd) c.1570–1575 Oil on canvas, 149.6 × 187 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna The theme on which the picture is based has not yet been satisfactorily clarified, but Titian raised it to the mythical level…