Tag: velvet

The Woman taken in Adultery (1644)

Rembrandt (1606-1669) The Woman taken in Adultery 1644 Oil on oak, 83.8 x 65.4 cm National Gallery, London A woman kneels and weeps. Darkness like a great cavern surrounds her. A shaft of light picks her out on the stone…

Belshazzar’s Feast (c.1636-1638)

Rembrandt (1606-1669) Belshazzar’s Feast c.1636–1638 Oil on canvas, 167.6 x 209.2 cm National Gallery, London Belshazzar’s Feast was painted somewhere between 1636 and 1638, when Rembrandt was about 30 years old. He had to make his way in Amsterdam, a…

Judith at the banquet of Holofernes (1634)

Rembrandt (1606-1669) Judith at the banquet of Holofernes 1634 Oil on canvas, 143 x 154.7 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid In the past various authors have expressed their scepticism about the attribution of the painting to Rembrandt. However, the Rembrandt Research…

San Lorenzo (1636)

Zurbarán, Francisco de (1598-1664) San Lorenzo (St Lawrence) 1636 Oil on canvas, 292 x 225 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Saint Lawrence is a splendid example of the austere laconic style of Francisco Zurbarán, who from 1628 was the chief…

Sibilla Cumana con putto (1651)

Guercino (1591-1666) Sibilla Cumana con putto (The Cumaean Sibyl with a Putto) 1651 Oil on canvas, 222 x 168.5 cm National Gallery, London The Cumaean Sibyl is one of 12 pagan sibyls, or prophetesses, said to have foretold the coming…

Ritratto di Federico II Gonzaga (1529)

Tiziano (c.1488-1576) Ritratto di Federico II Gonzaga (Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga) 1529 Oil on panel, 125 x 99 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid On 16 April 1529 Federico II Gonzaga, First Duke of Mantua (1500-1540), apologised to his uncle Alfonso…

Isabel la Católica (c.1848)

Madrazo y Kuntz, Luis de (1825-1897) Isabel la Católica c.1848 Oil on canvas, 225 x 140.8 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid The Chronological Series of the Kings of Spain was a museum project planned in 1847 by José de Madrazo to adorn…

Dama con liocorno (c.1505-1506)

Raffaello (1483-1520) La dama col liocorno (Lady with a Unicorn) c.1505–1506 Oil on panel transferred to canvas, 67 x 56 cm Galleria Borghese, Roma The young woman depicted is a Florentine girl, as can be seen from the precious fashionable dress of…

La maja desnuda (1795-1800)

Goya, Francisco de (1746-1828) La maja desnuda (The Naked Maja) 1795–1800 Oil on canvas, 97.3 x 190.6 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid An image of Venus in the nude, lying on a green velvet divan with pillows and a spread. Legend…