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…
Gentileschi, Artemisia (1593-c.1653) Autoritratto come Santa Caterina d’Alessandria (Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria) c.1615–1617 Oil on canvas, 71.4 × 69 cm National Gallery, London Artemisia Gentileschi, the most celebrated female artist of the seventeenth century, appears in the guise…
Bellini, Giovanni (c.1430-1516) Cristo morto sostenuto da due angeli (The Dead Christ supported by Two Angels) c.1465–1470 Oil on wood, 95 × 71.7 cm National Gallery, London This type of image of Christ after his death – close up, showing his…
Alma-Tadema, Lawrence (1836-1912) Roman potter c.1884 Oil on canvas, 152 x 80 cm Musée d’Orsay, Paris Fragment of the painting “Hadrian visiting a Roman-British pottery”, painted in 1884 and cut out by the artist in 1893. The other two fragments of…
Memling, Hans (c.1430-1494) Eve c.1485–1490 Oil on oak panel, 69.3 × 17.3 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna This is the outer right wing of the St. John Altarpiece. St. John Altarpiece (c.1485-1490) In a balanced composition, Hans Memling depicts the enthroned Madonna with an angel and…
Memling, Hans (c.1430-1494) Adam c.1485–1490 Oil on oak panel, 69.4 × 17.2 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna This is the outer left wing of the St. John Altarpiece. St. John Altarpiece (c.1485-1490) In a balanced composition, Hans Memling depicts the enthroned Madonna with an angel…