Boucher, François (1703-1770) Madame de Pompadour 1759 Oil on canvas, 91 x 68 cm Wallace Collection, London Pompadour has been famous for the important position as a patron and in politics that she obtained as Louis XV’s mistress. Because of her great…
Boucher, François (1703-1770) Le Bain de Vénus (The Bath of Venus) 1751 Oil on canvas, 107 x 84.8 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington In Enlightenment France the dedicated search to define truth engendered a re–evaluation of the natural. The belief that…
Allori, Alessandro (1535-1607) Maria de’ Medici c.1555 Oil on poplar, 116 x 90 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Since the early Renaissance the foremost artists and workshops in Florence had worked for the Medici. In 1570, Cosimo I became Grand-Duke of Tuscany, elevating…
Boucher, François (1703-1770) Portrait de Madame de Pompadour (Portrait of Madame Pompadour) 1756 Oil on canvas, 205 × 161 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich Madame de Pompadour was the official mistress of King Louis XV of France. She gained great influence and also…
Bronzino (1503-1572) Ritratto di Cosimo I de’ Medici (Portrait of Cosimo I de’ Medici) c.1560 Oil on wood, 84 x 64 cm National Gallery, Prague See also: • Medici, Cosimo I de’ (1519-1574)
Guercino (1591-1666) Papa Gregorio XV (Pope Gregory XV) c.1622–1623 Oil on canvas, 133.7 × 98.4 cm Getty Center, Los Angeles Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called il Guercino or simply Guercino, meaning “The Squinter”, a nickname referring to a congenital eye condition from which…
Guercino (1591-1666) La morte di Cleopatra (Death of Cleopatra) 1648 Oil on canvas, 173 x 237 cm Palazzo Rosso, Genova This painting, in which Cleopatra is depicted in the act of taking her life, in order not to suffer the shame…
Correggio (c.1489-1534) Danae c.1531 Oil on canvas, 161 x 193 cm Galleria Borghese, Roma Together with Leda, Ganymede Abducted by the Eagle, and Jupiter and Io, this painting forms part of a well-known series of Jupiter’s loves, painted by Correggio for Federico…
Fontana, Lavinia (1552-1614) Visita della regina di Saba al re Salomone (The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon) 1599 Oil on canvas, 256 x 325 cm National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin In 1872, just eight years after first opening…
Zurbarán, Francisco de (1598-1664) Santa Águeda (Saint Agatha) c.1635–1640 Oil on canvas, 129 × 61 cm Musée Fabre, Montpellier The prefect Quintianus wants to marry the beautiful and noble Sicilian Agathe; having dedicated her life to Christ, she refuses. So he makes…