La Tour, Georges de (1593-1652) La Madeleine aux deux flammes (The Penitent Magdalen with two flames) c.1640 Oil on canvas, 133.4 x 102.2 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York With its extreme contrasts of candlelight and shadow, pared-down geometry, and meditative…
Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890) Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette (Kop van een skelet met brandende sigaret) 1886 Oil on canvas, 32.3 x 24.8 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam F0212-JH0999 This skeleton with a burning cigarette is a student-like joke. Van…
La Tour, Georges de (1593-1652) La Madeleine au miroir, La Madeleine pénitente (Magdalene at a Mirror, The Repentant Magdalen) c.1635–1640 Oil on canvas, 113 × 92.7 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington According to the tenets of the 17th–century Catholic church, Mary…
Hals, Frans (c.1582-1666) Young Man holding a Skull (Vanitas) 1626–1628 Oil on canvas, 92.2 × 80.8 cm National Gallery, London A life-size figure stands before us, holding a skull in one hand and gesticulating with the other. Shown close up, the…