Young Man with a Plumed Hat (1631)

Rembrandt (1606-1669) Young Man with a Plumed Hat 1631 Oil on wood panel, 81.3 × 66 cm Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo This young man’s flamboyant feathered cap and gold chain did not reflect contemporary 17th-century Dutch fashion. Rather, the theatricality of…

Man in a Fur-Lined Coat (c.1655-1660)

Rembrandt (1606-1669) Man in a Fur-Lined Coat c.1655–1660 Oil on canvas, 114.9 × 88.3 cm Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Rembrandt’s reputation as one of the greatest artists of the Western world rests largely on his uncanny ability to convey the psychological…

London Visitors (1874)

Tissot, James (1836-1902) London Visitors 1874 Oil on canvas, 87 x 62.87 cm Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Standing underneath the portico of the newly constructed National Gallery in London, with the church of Saint Martin-in-the-Fields framed behind them, a fashionably dressed couple…

Botzaris surprend le camp des Turcs (1860-1862)

Delacroix, Eugène (1798-1863) Botzaris surprend le camp des Turcs (Botzaris Surprises the Turkish Camp and Falls Fatally Wounded) 1860–1862 Oil on canvas, 65.1 × 73 cm Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo The sudden violence and confusion of a surprise attack is captured…

Régate à Trouville (1884)

Caillebotte, Gustave (1848-1894) Régate à Trouville (Regatta at Trouville) 1884 Oil on canvas, 60.3 × 73 cm Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo In a view that seems like an uncomposed snapshot, summer villas hug the cliffs above the English Channel at Trouville,…

Le treillis (1862)

Courbet, Gustave (1819-1877) Le treillis (The Trellis) 1862 Oil on canvas, 109.9 × 135.3 cm Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Summer flowers are the heart of this painting. Full-blown, they surge across the surface, engulfing the young woman whose dress is even…

Le Ballet de ‘Robert Le Diable’ (1876)

Degas, Edgar (1834-1917) Le Ballet de ‘Robert Le Diable’ (The Ballet Scene from Meyerbeer’s Opera Robert Le Diable) 1876 Oil on canvas, 76.6 × 81.3 cm Victoria and Albert Museum, London Edgar Degas (1834-1917) was born in Paris where he entered the…

The Day Dream (1880)

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (1828-1882) The Day Dream 1880 Oil on canvas, 158.7 × 92.7 cm Victoria and Albert Museum, London The sitter for this painting was Jane Morris, the wife of William Morris, who often posed for Rossetti. At the time this…

Natività (c.1522)

Perugino (c.1446-1523) Natività (The Nativity) c.1522 Fresco transferred to canvas, 254.5 × 131 cm Victoria and Albert Museum, London Pietro di Cristoforo Vanucci called Perugino (ca. 1450-1523) may have trained with Andrea Verrocchio and subsequently with Piero della Francesca in 1480. He…

Portrait de Madame de Pompadour (1758)

Boucher, François (1703-1770) Portrait de Madame de Pompadour (Portrait of Madame Pompadour) 1758 Oil on canvas, 57.8 × 52.4 cm Victoria and Albert Museum, London François Boucher (1703-1770) was born in Paris and probably received his first artistic training from his father…