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The Virgin Mary is presented as a little girl with her hands crossed over her chest. Wearing blue and white, she ascends on a group of angels’ heads as the heavens open to welcome her. This differs from earlier versions of the same subject by Zurbarán in its lack of symbols of the litanies and in the presence of a group of singing angels that occupy the entire bottom of the painting and are
This panel is one of the models designed by Rubens for a series of tapestries on the life of the Consul Publius Decius(4th century BC). It offers an extremely eloquent depiction of this Roman hero’s moral example: following a prediction in a dream, he stoically sacrificed his own life in exchange for his people’s final victory over the Latins.
A surgeon extracts a stone from a patient´s head. The scene takes place in an urban setting, probably a market. An aged helper holds the patient´s head, along with a youth, who prepares the unguents. Meanwhile, another patient grimaces grotesquely while waiting his turn. Hemessen criticizes the defrauding of patients by depicting the doctor with a sarcastic expression that reveals him as an impost
On August 29, 1626, King Philip IV’s painter, Vicente Carducho (ca. 1576-1638), signed a contract for the creation of a cycle of paintings to celebrate the founding of the Carthusian Order by Saint Bruno and its leading members. This colossal undertaking sought to visually narrate numerous episodes from the Carthusians’ history and tradition. It was the most complete commission ever dedicated to t
The 1910 catalogue states that Bredius attributed this painting to Jacop Gerritsz. Cuyp (1594-1652), ascription that was officially accepted by the Museum in 1985. However, neither the typology nor the style correspond to Cuyp`s portraits. Moreover, the oval-shaped panel is characteristic of Amsterdam portraitists. Fred Meijer thus believes that this could be the work of a painter who belonged to
A wedding procession moves towards the church in a rural setting. The male members of both families lead the procession, headed by the groom. The flower in his hand is clearly a symbol of matrimony. The bride remains among the women. Both wear black clothing and a broad ruff collar, in keeping with early seventeenth-century style. The artist draws on the work of his father, Pieter Brueghel “the El
Dressed completely in black, with a widow´s headdress and simple jewelry, Marie de Medici is portrayed as the Queen Mother, after having governed France as a Reagent from 1610 to 1617. As one of Rubens´s most outstanding patrons, the queen commissioned him to decorate her Luxemburg Palace in Paris with a series of works that glorified her figure and that of her husband, Henri IV. Rubens began the
In classical mythology, Silenus was the guardian of forests. He was supposed to raise Bacchus when the latter was a child. Rubens depicts him in the customary manner: with goat ears and a scraggly beard, alluding to his condition as a wild being, and clothed only in buckskin. The mask on which he is leaning recalls his ties to the world of theater, as a Bacchic and festive deity. Rubens once again
Felipe III´s daughter, Anne of Austria, married young Louis XIII in 1615. She is depicted wearing black, French-style clothing, seated under a green canopy that is embroidered with fleurs de lis from the Bourbon family coat of arms. The portrait is set in the Hall of Caryatids of the Louvre Royal Palace, seat of the government. Thus, this is an official portrait and an example of Rubens´ capacity
Hunting in the woods, Acteon stops on the banks of a stream when he sees Diana and her nymphs bathing nude on the opposite bank. Fascinated by their beauty, he observes them with a challenging and amused expression, unaware of the cost of his boldness. Indeed, the outcome will be tragic, as Diana, goddess of chastity, is furious at being seen in the nude by a mortal. She responds by transforming t
This painting has recently been identified as a work by Pietro Novelli, known as Il Monrealese on account of his having been born in Monreale, Sicily. It was considered until 1933 to be the work of Neapolitan painter Andrea Vaccaro, and after that time its authorship was demoted to Anonymous Neapolitan by the Museo del Prado. The painting passed largely unnoticed on account of its being on long-te
This canvas and its companion, Taste, Hearing and Touch (P1404), represent the five senses embodied by female figures in palatial interiors. The sense of smell is conveyed by a woman holding flowers, while Sight contemplates herself in a mirror held by a cherub. They are located in a hall filled with paintings and sculptures, a sort of cabinet of paintings that could reflect an idealized represent
Giuseppe Recco, a member of one of the most famous families of Neapolitan still-life painters in the seventeenth century, was born in Naples on 12 July 1634. His vast output was consistently high in quality and is characterised by a marked cultural eclecticism, taking in a number of different still-life styles, from Spanish to northern European to Roman, with an unusual iconographic versatility.In
In this painting, an angel with a sorrowful expression supports the body of Christ in an upright, seated position. The clearly visible wounds on Christ´s hands indicate He has already been crucified and has died. The bloodless colour of the limbs and bowed head add to a cadaverous appearance. At His feet, the washbasin, the two nails and the crown of thorns all evoke the recent crucifixion. The an
This painting is illustrative of the beach scenes monopolised in Utrecht by the Willaerts family, who combined the two typical genres of Dutch painting in their work: seascapes and genre scenes. They are derived from similar compositions by Hendrick Cornelisz. Vroom (ca. 1566-1640), although the lower horizon line employed by Adam Willaerts endows the scenes with greater spatial depth which is fur
A young man holds a musical instrument that has been identified as a long-necked lute or guitarrón. His black clothing and the dark background leave his flesh tones and the white touches of his collar and cuffs as the only highlights, thus drawing the eye to his face and hands. This was a customary formula in Baroque portraits.The sitter’s expert grasp of his instrument indicates his famili
Peter Paul Rubens, the Flemish Baroque artist, was also a humanist scholar, art collector, and diplomat. In 1628, Rubens went to Madrid to meet with Philip IV, King of Spain (1621-1665), as part of his efforts to negotiate a peace treaty between Spain and England, and during his stay the Flemish artist painted, among other subjects, portraits of the Spanish royal family. A patron of the arts, Phil
An angel appears to Saint Joseph in his sleep, pointing to the dove of the Holy Ghost as the heavens open in a luminous burst of glory. Under the dove, a group of angels carry a mirror and flowers alluding to the fact that Mary remains a virgin despite her pregnancy. On a mat alongside the saint, we see an adze, a hand drill and other carpentry tools.Saint Joseph’s Dream was a relatively frequent
