Angelico, Fra (c.1395-1455) Madonna col Bambino e quattro angeli (Madonna and Child with Four Аngels) early 1420s Tempera on poplar panel, 81 x 51 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg This type of Madonna was widespread in Florence in the late 14th…
Delacroix, Eugène (1798-1863) Arabe sellant son cheval (Arab Saddling his Horse) 1855 Oil on canvas, 56 x 47 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Delacroix was a founder of the Romantic trend in 19th-century painting. He took this subject from his recollections…
Allori, Alessandro (1535-1607) Allegoria della Chiesa cristiana (Allegory of the Christian Church) early 1600s Oil on canvas, 131 x 115 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
Jordaens, Jacob (1593-1678) Allegorical Family Portrait early 1650s Oil on canvas, 178.4 x 152.3 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg This group portrait is an allegorical depiction of a scene of betrothal or marriage. That is confirmed by the inclusion in the…
Brueghel, Jan the Elder (1568-1625) Adoration of the Magi 1598–1600 Oil on copperplate, 26.5 x 35.2 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Compare: Brueghel, Jan the Elder (1568-1625) The Adoration of the Kings 1598 National Gallery, London
Lippi, Filippino (1457-1504) Adorazione di Gesù Bambino (Adoration of the Christ Child) c.1480 Tempera on canvas, diameter 33 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Filippino Lippi was the son of the artist-monk, Fra Filippo Lippi, and himself a pupil of Botticelli. This…
Picasso, Pablo (1881-1973) Buveuse d’absinthe (Absinthe Drinker) 1901 Oil on canvas, 73 x 54 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Picasso produced this work in the autumn of 1901, during his second trip to Paris, when he was just 22 years old.…
Kandinsky, Wassily (1866-1944) Small Worlds IV (Kleine Welten IV) 1922 Lithograph, 26.6 x 25.6 cm Museum of Modern Art, New York Small Worlds IV (Kleine Welten IV) from Small Worlds (Kleine Welten) Published in 1922, shortly after Vasily Kandinsky began teaching at…
Kandinsky, Wassily (1866-1944) Swinging (Schaukeln) 1925 Oil on board, 70.5 × 50.2 cm Tate Britain, London The title ‘Swinging’ captures this work’s sense of movement. Kandinsky believed painting should aim to be as abstract as music. He worked to create art that…
Kandinsky, Wassily (1866-1944) Cossacks (Cosaques) 1910–1911 Oil on canvas, 94.6 × 111.8 cm Tate Britain, London The ‘cossacks’ of the title are Russian cavalrymen which you can just recognise from their orange hats at the top and right of the painting. However…