Magritte, René (1898-1967) Le Dormeur téméraire (The Reckless Sleeper) 1928 Oil on canvas, 116 × 81 x 2 cm Tate Britain, London A figure sleeps in a wooden alcove above a dark cloudy sky. The way into this space is barred…
Guercino (1591-1666) Venere, Marte e Amore (Venus, Mars and Cupid) 1633 Oil on canvas, 139 x 161 cm Galleria Estense, Modena Following the indication of Venus, whose right hand is painted almost in a trompe l’oeil, Cupid is about to…
Bouguereau, William-Adolphe (1825-1905) L’enlèvement de Psyché (The Abduction of Psyche) 1895 Oil on canvas, 209 x 120 cm Private collection See also: • Apuleius (c.124-c.170): Psyche et Cupido (Latin)
Legros, Alphonse (1837-1911) Cupidon et Psyché (Cupid and Psyche) exhibited 1867 Oil on canvas, 116.8 × 141.4 cm Tate Britain, London The tale of Cupid and Psyche was written by the Roman poet Lucius Apuleius. Psyche was given a box, supposedly…
Gauguin, Paul (1848-1903) Moisson, Le Pouldu (Harvest: Le Pouldu) 1890 Oil on canvas, 73 × 92.1 cm Tate Britain, London In 1890 Gauguin was staying at Marie Henry’s boarding house in Le Pouldu, Brittany. The headland in this painting is at the western…
Gainsborough, Thomas (1727-1788) Pomeranian Bitch and Puppy c.1777 Oil on canvas, 83.2 × 111.8 cm Tate Britain, London The two dogs in this painting belonged to the musician Carl Friedrich Abel, the last of the great viola da gamba virtuosi. Abel was…
Dalí, Salvador (1904-1989) La Découverte des Amériques par Christophe Colomb (The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus) 1958–1959 Oil on canvas, 410 x 284 cm Salvador Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg This work is an ambitious homage to Dalí’s Spain. It combines…
Hunt, William Holman (1827-1910) The Scapegoat 1854–1855 oil on canvas, 33.7 x 45.9 cm Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester Vividly coloured depiction of a russet coloured goat on the brink of death. The goat stands in the centre foreground, head lowered, haunches caving…
Hunt, William Holman (1827-1910) The Scapegoat 1854–1856 Oil on canvas, 86 x 140 cm Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight Compare: Hunt, William Holman (1827-1910) The Scapegoat 1854–1855 Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester
Hunt, William Holman (1827-1910) The Triumph of the Innocents 1883–1884 Oil on canvas, 156.2 x 254 cm Tate Britain, London Hunt began painting this subject while on a visit to the Holy Land in the 1870s. It shows Mary, Joseph and…