Rembrandt (1606-1669) Sacrifice of Isaac 1635 Oil on canvas, 193 x 132 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of his faith (Genesis, 22: 1-13). Abraham set out to carry out the…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) Return of the Prodigal Son c.1668 Oil on canvas, 262 x 205 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg At one moment in his youth Rembrandt depicted himself in one of his many self-portraits as a reveller and spoilt child of…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) Holy Family 1645 Oil on canvas, 117 x 91 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg One of the key subjects for Rembrandt was the Holy Family that perhaps for him embodied the lost dream of a happy home life. In…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) Descent from the Cross 1634 Oil on canvas, 158 x 117 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Like other paintings by Rembrandt on Christian subjects, The Descent from the Cross was not intended for a church, as in Protestant Holland…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) The Toilet of Bathsheba 1643 Oil on wood, 57.2 x 76.2 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Rembrandt shows the biblical figure Bathsheba completely nude, lost in a moment of contemplation and unaware that she is being observed…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Achilles Discovered among the Daughters of Lycomedes 1680 Oil on canvas, 138 x 190 cm Mauritshuis, The Hague This painting by De Lairesse is a typical example of the style that came into fashion in Holland…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Hercules between Vice and Virtue c.1685 Oil on canvas, 112 x 181 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris The theme comes from the famous apologue of Prodicas, transmitted by Xenophon (Memorabilia, II, 1, 21-34), often represented by painters…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Abraham receiving the three angels of the Lord c.1680–1685 Oil on canvas, 120 x 164 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris Episode taken from the Bible (Genesis, XVIII, 6-15). In the background, Sarah, Abraham’s old wife, who will…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) The Institution of the Eucharist 1664–1665 Oil on canvas, 137 x 155 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris Dated quite early in the artist’s work, around 1664–1665. – Another reduced version at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Roy, no P 10).…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Mercury Ordering Calypso to Release Odysseus c.1680 Oil on canvas, 132 x 96 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam During his wanderings, Odysseus encounters the nymph Calypso, who falls in love with him and holds him captive on her island.…