Watteau, Antoine (1684-1721) Fêtes Vénitiennes (Venetian Festivals) 1718–1719 Oil on canvas, 56.3 × 46.2 cm Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh This is a very fine example of the ‘fêtes galantes’ perfected by Watteau. He included himself as the seated musician playing a musette.…
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
Monet, Claude (1840-1926) Charing Cross Bridge 1903 Oil on canvas, 73 x 104.1 cm Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis In this scene, a train puffs across the bridge as sunlight falls through the mist and creates shimmering patterns on the river…
El Greco (1541-1614) San Pablo (St. Paul) 1598–1600 Oil on canvas, 69.9 x 55.9 cm Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Distinguished by his sword, the Christian apostle Paul holds a folded paper between the tips of his fingers. Its Greek…
Daubigny, Charles-François (1817-1878) Bords de l’Oise à Auvers (Banks of the Oise at Auvers) 1863 Oil on canvas, 88.9 x 161.3 cm Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Colorfully dressed peasants, who fish on the riverbank alongside rafts of water lilies, animate…
Canaletto (1697-1768) Isola nella laguna con una porta e una chiesa (An Island in the Lagoon with a Gateway and a Church) 1743–1744 Oil on canvas, 51.1 x 68.6 cm Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Seemingly a painting of a…
Sargent, John Singer (1856-1925) Portrait of Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland 1904 Oil on canvas, 254 x 146 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid John Singer Sargent lived in Paris until 1886. He studied with the painter Carolus Duran and made friends with a…
Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640) Venus and Cupid c.1606–1611 Oil on canvas, 137 x 111 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid Rubens was the most outstanding of all Flemish painters, and a leading exponent of Baroque art. The Toilet of Venus is one of…
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…