De Morgan, Evelyn (1855-1919) Queen Eleanor and the Fair Rosamund Probably 1901–1902 Oil on canvas, 75.6 x 66.7 cm De Morgan Collection Rosamund was the mistress of Henry II, who built a house for her at Woodstock in Oxfordshire. Legends say…
Burne-Jones, Edward (1833-1898) Princess Sabra, or The King’s Daughter 1865 Oil on canvas, 107.2 x 61.5 cm Musée d’Orsay, Paris Inscription: S. initials D.b.g.: E.B.J. 1865-6 This work was part of a decorative ensemble commissioned from Burne-Jones by the watercolourist Miles…
Zurbarán, Francisco de (1598-1664) Santa Casilda (Saint Casilda) c.1630–1635 Oil on canvas, 171 x 107 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid Images of saints depicted alone, holding their attributes and looking out of the picture space were among the most popular compositions within…
Millais, John Everett (1829-1896) Ophelia 1851–1852 Oil on canvas, 76.2 x 111.8 cm Tate Britain, London The scene depicted is from Shakespeare‘s Hamlet, Act IV, Scene vii, in which Ophelia, driven out of her mind when her father is murdered by…
Tintoretto, Jacopo (1518-1594) Susanna e i vecchioni (Susanna and the Elders) c.1555–1556 Oil on canvas, 146 × 193.6 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna In the Old Testament, it is told how Susanna receives lewd proposals from two men who have secretly intruded…
Lotto, Lorenzo (1480-1557) Ritratto di un uomo (Portrait of a Man, possibly Girolamo Rosati) 1533–1534 Oil on canvas, 108.2 x 100.5 cm Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland The gesture of the elegantly dressed man is a mystery. Is he rising from…
Manet, Édouard (1832-1883) La Brioche (The Brioche) 1870 Oil on canvas, 65.1 x 81 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Manet reportedly called still life the “touchstone of the painter.” From 1862 to 1870 he executed several large-scale tabletop scenes…
Alma-Tadema, Lawrence (1836-1912) Glaucus and Nydia 1867 Oil on wood panel, 39 x 64.3 cm Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Alma-Tadema, one of the most popular Victorian painters, became famous for his depictions of the luxury and decadence of the Roman Empire.…
Gainsborough, Thomas (1727-1788) The Artist’s Daughter Mary 1777 Oil on canvas, 77.5 × 64.8 cm Tate Britain, London Gainsborough was very fond of his two daughters and painted them frequently from childhood into their late twenties. Concerned for their future, he took…
Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640) The Crowning of Saint Catherine 1631 or 1633 Oil on canvas, 265.7 × 214.9 cm Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Rubens painted this magnificent painting as an altarpiece for the Church of the Augustinians in Mechelen (Malines),…