Delacroix, Eugène (1798-1863) La Mort de Sardanapale, esquisse (The Death of Sardanapalus, sketch) 1826–1827 Oil on canvas, 81 × 100 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris Compare: Delacroix, Eugène (1798-1863) La mort de Sardanapale 1844 Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Delacroix, Eugène (1798-1863) Mort…
Botticelli, Sandro (c.1445-1510) Annunciazione (Annunciation from San Martino alla Scala) 1481 Detached fresco, 243 x 555 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze The usual subject of the announcement to the Virgin Mary by archangel Gabriel is set in a renaissance palace, overlooking…
Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre (1824-1898) La Poésie dramatique (Dramatic Poetry, Aeschylus) c.1896 Oil on canvas, 124.1 x 63.2 cm Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia This painting is a scaled-down version of an enormous canvas—over 14 × 7 feet—that Puvis de Chavannes painted as…
Poussin, Nicolas (1594-1665) La Destruction du temple de Jérusalem (The destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem) 1635 Oil on canvas, 147 × 198 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna The material is taken from Flavius Josephus’ Jewish War. Titus, the son of the…
Jordaens, Jacob (1593-1678) The Meeting of Odysseus and Nausicaa c.1630–1640 Oil on canvas, 117.5 x 194 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Jordaens was one of the most renowned and versatile Antwerp painters. Here he illustrates an episode from Homer’s Odyssey. Odysseus, naked and…
Daumier, Honoré (1808-1879) La lecture (The Reading) c.1857 Oil on panel, 27 x 35 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Alma-Tadema, Lawrence (1836-1912) The Egyptian Widow 1872 Oil on panel, 74.9 × 99.1 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The Frisian artist Alma-Tadema was a great success in England, where he was even knighted. His representations of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman scenes made…
Alma-Tadema, Lawrence (1836-1912) The Death of the Pharaoh’s Firstborn Son 1872 Oil on canvas, 77 × 124 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam In this scene from the biblical book of Exodus, Moses and Aaron (upper right) visit the pharaoh, who is mourning his…
Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609) Pietà c.1603 Oil on copper, 41.3 x 60.7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Overwhelmed by her helplessness and pain, Mary holds her dead son in her lap. Pale colours and the pathos of marbles by Michelangelo and from antiquity…
Gérôme, Jean-Léon (1824-1904) Napoléon en Egypte (Napoleon in Egypt) 1863 Oil on panel, 21 x 33 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg General Bonaparte with his Headquarters in Egypt. A Sketch. Compare: Gérôme, Jean-Léon (1824-1904) Napoléon en Egypte 1867–1868 Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton …