Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) Girl interrupted at Her Music (Onderbreking van de muziek) c.1658–1659 Oil on canvas, 39.4 x 44.5 cm Frick Collection, New York Music-making, a recurring subject in Vermeer’s interior scenes, was associated in the seventeenth century with courtship. In…
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) The Geographer (De geograaf) 1669 Oil on canvas, 52 x 45 cm Städel Museum, Frankfurt The geographer has just been measuring distances on a map with his compass; now, he pauses for thought. The globe and the map…
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) The Astronomer (De astronoom) 1668 Oil on canvas 51 x 45 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris Celestial globe by J. Hondius (1600) and astronomy manual by Metius (1621) opening to the chapter devoted to the stars, with engraving…
Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675) The Little Street (Het Straatje, Delft) c.1658 Oil on canvas, 54.3 x 44 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam This is an unusual painting in Vermeer’s oeuvre, and remarkable for its time as a portrait of ordinary houses. The composition is…
Mantegna, Andrea (c.1431-1506) Presentazione al Tempio (Presentation in the Temple) c.1454 Tempera on wood, 77.1 x 94.4 cm Gemäldegalerie, Berlin The Presentation of Christ in the Temple is narrated in the Gospel of Saint Luke (2:21–39). Soon after his birth, Jesus was…
Mantegna, Andrea (c.1431-1506) Morte della Vergine (Death of the Virgin) c.1462 Oil on wood, 54.5 x 42 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid The Virgin Mary lies on her deathbed, surrounded by eleven Apostles. Through the window, the Borgo di San Giorgio and…
Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890) La Maison de La Crau (The Old Mill) (F 550, JH 1577) 1888 Oil on canvas, 64.77 x 53.975 cm Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo In February 1888, Vincent van Gogh left the cold, dreary winter in…
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…
Manet, Édouard (1832-1883) Le Chemin de fer (The Railway, Gare Saint-Lazare) 1873 Oil on canvas, 93.3 x 111.5 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington The Gare Saint-Lazare, in 1873 the largest and busiest train station in Paris, is unseen in this painting.…