Manet, Édouard (1832-1883) Olympia 1863 Oil on canvas, 130.5 x 191 cm Musée d’Orsay, Paris With Olympia, Manet reworked the traditional theme of the female nude, using a strong, uncompromising technique. Both the subject matter and its depiction explain the scandal…
Fontana, Lavinia (1552-1614) Minerva in atto di abbigliarsi (Minerva Dressing) 1613 Oil on canvas, 258 x 190 cm Galleria Borghese, Roma The work, which dates back to 1613, was painted in Rome, evoked here through the dome of St. Peter’s visible…
Van Eyck, Jan (c.1390-1441) Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?) 1433 Oil on oak, 26 x 19 cm National Gallery, London This man, his face impassive and his gaze intense, is almost certainly Jan van Eyck himself. No other portraits of…
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) The Guitar Player (De gitaarspeelster) c.1672 Oil on canvas, 53 x 46.3 cm Kenwood House, London Compare: Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) Young Woman seated at a Virginal c.1672–1675 Private collection, New York
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) Diana and her nymphs (Diana en haar Nimfen) c.1653–1654 Oil on canvas, 97.8 x 104.6 cm Mauritshuis, The Hague Signed lower left, on the rock, between the dog and the thistle: JVMeer VM in ligature Vermeer is best…
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (1841-1919) Le Garçon au chat (Young Boy with a Cat) 1868 Oil on canvas, 123.5 x 66 cm Musée d’Orsay, Paris The Boy with the Cat has not given up all its secrets. This male nude has no equivalent in…
Bellini, Giovanni (c.1430-1516) Ritratto di condottiero (Giovanni Emo) 1475–1480 Oil on panel transferred to canvas mounted on panel, 48.9 x 34.6 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington Shown from the chest up against a black background, a man with peachy skin wears…
Manet, Édouard (1832-1883) Le déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass) 1863 Oil on canvas, 207 x 265 cm Musée d’Orsay, Paris Rejected by the jury of the 1863 Salon, Manet exhibited Le déjeuner sur l’herbe under the title Le Bain…
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) San Giovanni Battista (St John the Baptist) c.1508–1519 Oil on walnut panel, 72.9 x 56.3 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris This painting was probably designed around 1508 and kept by Leonardo da Vinci until his death, to slowly…
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) & Workshop San Giovanni nel deserto, Bacco (St John in the Wilderness, Bacchus) c.1517–1520 Oil on wood transferred to canvas, 177 x 115 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris We do not know the circumstances of the creation of…