In addition to the Roemer goblet, other glasses common in this kind of monochrome still life presented here include the Berkemeyer, in this case tipped over and broken, and the delicate Façon-de-Venise wineglass, in fashion at the time and likewise made in the Netherlands. Also featured is an exquisitely decorated silver goblet. Alongside them is a knife with a sheath and an open clock that
Three figures enjoy tobacco in an expressive manner in the foreground while an onlooker leans through the window. Around a table in the background, another group of figures drinks or plays cards. This is an example of scenes inside taverns with smokers, drinkers and players, which Teniers made during the sixteen thirties. He began with figures by his teacher, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/1606-1638), whic
On entering the Museum this painting was inventoried as a product of the Sevillian school, though the 1876 catalogue lists it as a work executed in the style of Jan Both. Valdivieso (1973) considers it to be an eighteenth-century Italian work, while Barghahn (1986) identifies it as one of the landscapes in the Palace of the Buen Retiro inventory, though in fact neither the measurements nor the des
Luis Meléndez distinguished himself as the greatest bodegón, or still-life, painter in late eighteenth-century Spain. By this time, the popularity of the genre had declined in Spain and was not practiced by any of Meléndez’ contemporaries at court. Even so, Meléndez painted over one hundred bodegones in his lifetime, leading art historians to infer that he took a person
Some villagers smoke and chat at the door of a tavern. A woman is coming out the door, carrying the food they were waiting for. On the right, some peasants chat in a friendly manner. The church of a nearby village is visible in the background, and across the plains, another town is visible. Here, Teniers had Lucas van Uden paint the landscape. The latter used a warm evening light derived from his
Shortly after his arrival in Spain in 1753, Giaquinto embarked on a series of eight canvases on scenes from the Passion for the King’s Oratory in the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid. The series also included the altarpiece, which depicted The Holy Trinity (P-5444). Christ is brought before Pilate who, seated in the background, aims to achieve a balance between his own opinion regarding the innocence
A group of villagers pass the time by testing their aim with a bow. One shoots at the target placed in the ruins of a wall while the others look on, standing or sitting, and a small group converse. The horizontal layout of this composition is more pronounced than in other scenes by this painter, which reinforces the idea of movement in the event. Stylistic motives like the evening light that flood
The painting belongs to the type of still life designated by Vroom as monochrome banketjes, pieces first executed by Heda towards the end of the 1620s that became very popular in the Netherlands and abroad, as illustrated by the fact that there were two in the inventory of Rubens´s property. There are sufficient grounds to interpret these compositions as moralising, religious or allegorical works.
Ramón Bayeu, the younger brother of Francisco Bayeu, received similar training to his brother and won first prize in a competition organised by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1766. Beginning in 1775, he worked under the direction of his brother, producing cartoons for tapestries with genre scenes for the Royal Tapestry Manufactory. A skilful painter of frescoes, he was em
Two splendid sea breams play the leading role here. They are surrounded by lesser motifs, including oranges, a kitchen towel, a head of garlic, and packet of what is probably spice, two terracotta bowls from Alcorcón, a long-handled pan, a mortar whose pestle leans into the background, and a cruet that participates in this work’s careful study of light as a means of defining volumes, divers
In what is now the stairway at Madrid’s Royal Palace, Corrado Giaquinto developed a program depicting the Spanish Monarchy, its virtues and its historical mission to serve and defend Religion. Allegorical representations of Religion and the Catholic Church appear at the centre of Spain pays homage to Religion and to the Church, 1759. Religion is depicted as a woman carrying a cross in her left han
This architectural landscape showing the ancient Roman city of Benevento, near Naples, was painted around 1759 by Antonio Joli of Modena. A painter of theatre sets and vedute, Joli worked for theatres in Venice, London and Madrid, and painted numerous scenes for private collectors, which show the influence of Giovanni Paolo Panini, Gaspare Vanvitelli and Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto). In 1756
Giuseppe Bonito was a student of Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) and a follower of his artistic idiom. This can be seen in the decidedly Baroque appearance of his early mythological and religious works, which later led to an amiable, colourist Rococo style. Bonito specialised in genre paintings and portraits, and the present canvas is a fine example of his skills. It is especially attractive as a h
A depiction of the port of Naples on 6 October 1759, when Charles of Bourbon (1716-1788) left for Spain, where he would reign under the name of Carlos III. son of Felipe V (1683-1746) and Isabel de Farnesio (1692-1776), Carlos was king of Naples and Sicily until his brother, Fernando VI (1713-1759) died without issue, obliging Carlos to return to Spain. The scene shows the bay of Naples with the v
A monkey dressed as a sculptor works in his studio, making a statue of a satyr while another helps him and a third, dressed in elegant clothes, watches his work attentively. Other works by the artist are visible in the background, including the tomb of another simian. This work is paired with The Monkey Painter (P01805) and both offer Tenier´s critical vision of merely imitative artistic activity.
On August 10, 1759, Ferdinand VI died without a descendant. As a result, his stepbrother Charles, then King of Naples and Sicily, inherited the Spanish throne. The first of seven children of Philip V and his second wife Isabel Farnese, Charles VII had reigned for a period of almost 24 years in Naples. In 1738, he had married the Pricess María Amalia of Saxony, and their thirteen children we
Nani depicts a partridge and a female duck tied to a tree, a thrush and two quails, one of them already plucked and skinned in preparation for cooking. While the birds’ different states refer to various stages in the hunt, the decorative nature of the composition prevails over their realistic appearance. This canvas was commissioned by the heir to the throne, the future Charles IV, for the Royal P