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…
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…
Veronese, Paolo (1528-1588) Ritratto di Daniele Barbaro (Portrait of Daniele Barbaro) 1556–1562 Oil on canvas, 121 x 105.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Daniele Barbaro was a leading scholar of Aristotelian physics. He is shown in the ecclesiastical garments of a patriarch. Next…
Veronese, Paolo (1528-1588) Ritratto di dama con cagnolino (Portrait of a Woman with a Dog) c.1560–1570 Oil on canvas, 105 x 79 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid Along with Titian and Tintoretto, Paolo Caliari — known as Veronese — was one of…
Gainsborough, Thomas (1727-1788) Mrs Siddons 1785 Oil on canvas, 126 × 99.5 cm National Gallery, London Mrs Siddons (1755–1831) was the greatest tragic actress of her time, remaining at the top of her profession for 30 years. Gainsborough painted her in the…
Scholderer, Otto (1834-1902) The Artist’s Wife on the Ottoman (Luise Scholderer auf der Ottomane) 1873 Oil on canvas, 69 × 82 cm Städel Museum, Frankfurt The artist’s wife is facing sideways towards the viewer and is looking at him in half-profile. Scholderer…