Watteau, Antoine (1684-1721) La Rêveuse (The Dreamer) 1712–1714 Oil on panel, 23.2 × 17 cm Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago The traditional title of this small painting, The Dreamer, derives from an engraving made after it, which was intended for sale to…
Ghirlandaio, Domenico (1448-1494) Giovanna degli Albizzi Tornabuoni 1489–1490 Mixed media on panel, 77 x 49 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid This superb panel is a fine example of fifteenth-century Florentine portraiture. Artists of the time followed classical dictates: body proportions were idealised while…
Fragonard, Jean-Honoré (1732-1806) Les hasards heureux de l’escarpolette (The Happy Chances of the Swing) c.1767–1768 Oil on canvas, 81 x 64.2 cm Wallace Collection, London Fragonard’s iconic painting is one of the most emblematic images of 18th-century French art. A young…
Carriera, Rosalba (1675-1757) Autoritratto con il ritratto della sorella (Self-Portrait with the Portrait of her Sister) 1715 Pastel on paper, 71 x 57 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Pietro Aretino c.1537 Oil on canvas, 101.9 × 85.7 cm Frick Collection, New York See also: • Aretino, Pietro (1492-1556)
Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Ritratto di Pietro Aretino (Portrait of Pietro Aretino) 1545 Oil on canvas, 96.7 × 77.6 cm Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Firenze This portrait of Pietro Aretino was painted by Titian in early 1545 and was later donated by the Tuscan poet,…
Rosso Fiorentino (1495-1540) Ritratto di giovane con una lettera (Portrait of a Young Man holding a Letter) 1518 Oil on wood, 85.5 x 66.5 cm National Gallery, London A young man glances up at us from the letter he has just been…
Veronese, Paolo (1528-1588) Allegorie dell’amore: L’unione felice (Four Allegories of Love: Happy Union) c.1575 Oil on canvas, 187.4 x 186.7 cm National Gallery, London This is one of a series of four paintings by Veronese that concern the trials and rewards of…
Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530) Ritratto di giovane (Portrait of a Young Man) c.1517–1518 Oil on linen, 72.4 x 57.2 cm National Gallery, London We have interrupted a young man reading; he turns to look over his shoulder at us. The unguarded look…
Lotto, Lorenzo (1480-1557) Ritratto di gentildonna ispirata a Lucrezia (Portrait of a Woman inspired by Lucretia) c.1530–1533 Oil on canvas, 96.5 x 110.6 cm National Gallery, London A sumptuously dressed young woman stands between the back of an armchair and a table.…