Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) Mistress and Maid (Dame en dienstbode) c.1666–1667 Oil on canvas, 90.2 x 78.7 cm Frick Collection, New York Vermeer chose a large canvas for this composition, which presents two women pondering a newly arrived letter. Depicting an interior…
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) The Lacemaker (De kantwerkster) 1669–1670 Oil on canvas transferred to panel, 24 x 21 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris The motif of the lacemaker at work is traditionally a sign of domestic virtue, tinged with religious moralism (the…
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Christus in het huis van Martha en Maria) 1654–1656 Oil on canvas, 158.5 x 141.5 cm Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh
Bellini, Giovanni (c.1430-1516) San Francesco in estasi (St Francis in Ecstasy) c.1475–1480 Oil on panel, 124.1 × 140.5 cm Frick Collection, New York Details of Giovanni Bellini’s birth and early life remain largely unknown. He grew up in Venice, his likely…
Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890) The Potato Eaters (De aardappeleters) 1885 Oil on canvas mounted on panel, 73.9 x 95.2 cm Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo (F 78, JH 734) Test of mastery The potato eaters is the most ambitious painting of Van Gogh’s…
Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890) The Potato Eaters (De Aardappeleters) 1885 Oil on canvas, 82 x 114 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam F0082-JH0764 Nuenen, April-May 1885 Van Gogh saw the Potato Eaters as a showpiece, for which he deliberately chose a difficult…
Bruegel the Elder, Pieter (c.1525-1569) The Land of Milk and Honey 1567 Oil on oak, 51.5 x 78.3 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich The theme broached here is human wrongdoing that includes idleness and gluttony. It pervades all social classes, as shown…
Bruegel the Elder, Pieter (c.1525-1569) The Peasant Wedding c.1568 Oil on oak, 113 × 164 × 3.2 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna The apparent “snapshot” of this picture is in fact carefully composed. Dispensing with allegorical meaning the painting is a realistic…
Bruegel the Elder, Pieter (c.1525-1569) The Peasant Dance c.1568 Oil on oak panel, 114 × 164 × 3 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Inscribed at lower right: BRVEGEL The opening dance of the country fair is depicted: a traditional leaping dance which…
Bruegel the Elder, Pieter (c.1525-1569) The Triumph of Death 1562–1563 Oil on panel, 117 x 162 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid In this moral work, the triumph of Death over mundane things is symbolized by a large army of skeletons razing…