Bacon, Francis (1909-1992) Study for Crouching Nude 1952 Oil and sand on canvas, 198.1 × 137.2 cm Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Few painters have defined the post–World War II era with its existential loathing better than Francis Bacon, the brilliant son…
Pinturicchio (c.1454-1513) Crocifissione tra i santi Cristoforo e Girolamo (Christ on the Cross between Sts. Christopher and Jerome) Ante 1473 or c.1475–1478 Oil on panel, 59 x 40 cm Galleria Borghese, Roma This panel has been in the Borghese Collection only since…
Cassatt, Mary (1844-1926) Woman with a Pearl Necklace in a Loge 1879 Oil on canvas, 81.3 × 59.7 cm Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Cassatt created a series of theater scenes in the late 1870s, displaying an interest in city nightlife…
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…
Bacon, Francis (1909-1992) Oedipe et le Sphinx d’après Ingres (Oedipus and the Sphinx after Ingres) 1984 Lithograph printed in colours on Arches paper, 117 × 86 cm Private collection Compare: Ingres, Jean Auguste Dominique (1780-1867) Oedipe explique l’énigme du sphinx 1808 Musée…
Bacon, Francis (1909-1992) Triptych August 1972 1972 Oil paint and sand on 3 canvases, each: 198.1 × 147.3 cm Tate Britain, London © Estate of Francis Bacon This work is generally considered one in a series of Black Triptychs which followed the suicide…
Perugino (c.1446-1523) San Sebastiano (St Sebastian) 1493–1494 Tempera, oil on linden panel, 53.8 x 39.5 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Sebastian was a Roman soldier who served in the private guard of the Emperor Diocletian. For his faith in the teachings…
Braque, Georges (1882-1963) Grand Nu (Large Nude) 1907–1908 Oil on canvas, 140 × 100 cm Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris [Winter 1907 – June 1908] By virtue of its subject, its dimensions and its audacity, this work constitutes an essential milestone in…