Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640) Samson and Delilah c.1609–1610 Oil on wood, 185 × 205 cm National Gallery, London Peter Paul Rubens’s Samson and Delilah portrays a tragedy of love and betrayal. According to the Old Testament, Samson, a Jewish hero blessed…
Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre (1824-1898) L’été (Summer) before 1873 Oil on canvas, 43.2 × 62.2 cm National Gallery, London The theme of Puvis de Chavannes’s painting is an old one. Images of summer and harvesting can be found in medieval illuminated manuscripts,…
Poussin, Nicolas (1594-1665) Le Triomphe de Silène (The Triumph of Silenus) c.1636 Oil on canvas, 142.9 × 120.5 cm National Gallery, London This playful scene celebrates Silenus, companion to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and drunkenness. Silenus, a naked old…
Morisot, Berthe (1841-1895) Jour d’été (Summer’s Day) c.1879 Oil on canvas, 45.7 × 75.2 cm National Gallery, London This painting was almost certainly exhibited with the title The Lake in the Bois de Boulogne at the Fifth Impressionist exhibition in April…
Millet, Jean-François (1814-1875) Femme et enfant dans un paysage (Woman and Child in a Landscape) 1846–1847 Oil on canvas, 45.7 × 38.1 cm National Gallery, London A woman sits on a rocky ledge, her head gracefully turned toward a young naked…
Fragonard, Jean-Honoré (1732-1806) Psyché montrant à ses soeurs les présents de l’amour (Psyche showing her Sisters her Gifts from Cupid) 1753 Oil on canvas, 168.3 × 192.4 cm National Gallery, London This painting illustrates an episode from the classical story of Cupid…
Delacroix, Eugène (1798-1863) Ovide chez les Scythes (Ovid among the Scythians) 1859 Oil on canvas, 87.6 × 130.2 cm National Gallery, London In AD 8 the Roman poet Ovid, author of The Art Of Love and the epic poem Metamorphoses, was banished…
Corot, Jean-Baptiste-Camille (1796-1875) Le chêne de la vallée (The Oak in the Valley) 1871 Oil on canvas, 39.8 × 52.8 cm National Gallery, London This view was one of several pictures that Corot painted in May 1871 while he was staying…
Bellotto, Bernardo (1721-1780) La fortezza di Königstein vista da Nord (The Fortress of Königstein from the North) 1756–1758 Oil on canvas, 132.1 × 236.2 cm National Gallery, London Sharp and angular, the Saxon fortress of Königstein, about 25 miles southeast of…
Picasso, Pablo (1881-1973) Femme en chemise assise (Seated Woman in a Chemise) 1923 Oil on canvas, 92.1 × 73 cm Tate Britain, London