On 16 April 1529 Federico II Gonzaga, First Duke of Mantua (1500-1540), apologised to his uncle Alfonso d’Este for retaining Titian: perché ha conienzo un retratto mio qual molto desidero sii f [+]
The first verified Spanish documentation of Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist or Madonna of the Rose, c. 1517, dates from 1657. In 1642 Wenceslaus Hollar engraved this composition aft [+]
This likeness of the Franciscan clergyman is a significant example of elongated bust portraits that are quiet customary in the Western figurative tradition. Such works allow a closer approach to the m [+]
The Virgin’s facial type, the confident drawing and the forceful rendering of the spatial planes originally led this work to be attributed to Claudio Coello. But in 1986 more precise knowledge of the [+]
The picture belongs to a group of scenes set inside a stable which Wouwerman began painting in 1655. This cycle is an exception in the painter`s output, which was mainly focused on outdoor scenes. Mos [+]
This painting entered the Museum as an original work by Jan Both, attribution that has been maintained in the catalogues until the present day. In 1973 Valdivieso identifies it as the picture listed i [+]
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 fr [+]
A noble Roman widow and mother of five children, Saint Paula decided to retreat to the desert and abandon her worldly ways in favour of a life of prayer and penitence. In 285 AD she abandoned Rome wit [+]
The original composition was enlarged on the right side with a section of wood of around 10.5 cm, glued against the grain. During the restoration carried out in 1994 it was noted that the preparation [+]
This work belongs to a group from the History of Rome series for the Buen Retiro Palace. Dedicated to depictions of Roman public pastimes, the group includes athletes, gladiators, chariots, animal fig [+]
The scene shows a rider on a brown horse, with his back to the viewer, leading a white horse by the reins. He is about to enter the river when a barking dog rushes at them. The horses are startled and [+]
In contrast to most depictions of this episode, here Saint Sebastian has not yet been tied to the tree. Two executioners prepare his martyrdom. The divine light falling on him allows the artist to foc [+]
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 Ruben [+]
This scene belongs to the type of Italianate landscape which Asselijn cultivated in Holland based on drawings and sketches made from the life during his stay in Rome. Blankert (1965) dates the work to [+]
En un lienzo de formato cuadrado el artista ha representado el momento en que el verdugo, por orden de Herodes, quien satisface el deseo de Salomé y la venganza de Herodías, su madre (Marcos, 6 14-29) [+]
Infra-red reflectography conducted for this catalogue reveals no underdrawing, which could suggest that this painting is a copy, possibly a workshop replica of the signed original in the Musée [+]
Renaissance painting abounds with representations of Christ bearing the cross on the road to Calvary, either as an isolated figure, or with an executioner assailing him, or accompanied by soldiers, cu [+]
This is one of the elegant hunting scenes Wouwerman painted in the early 1660s that reveal his extraordinary talent as landscape artist. In these works, rather than depicting a hunting scene set in fr [+]