This attractive group portrait, one of the most interesting of the 17th-century Dutch school on account of its bourgeois spirit with aristocratic leanings, is an extraordinary skilful depiction of the artist´s close family. Jordaens portrays himself with his wife Catharina van Noort and their first child Elizabeth, born on 26 June 1617, whose age allows us to date the work approximately. Cat
The first known reference to this work dates from 1746, when an inventory of paintings at the La Granja Palace was drawn up. There, it is attributed to Velázquez and identified as a likeness of his wife, Juana, whose father was the painter, Francisco Pacheco. It also specifies that she is holding a board. The linking of anonymous portraits to the lives of their authors was frequent in the 1
Titian represented the Gospel account of the burial of Christ (Matthew 27: 57-61; Mark 15: 44-47; Luke 23: 50-54; John 19: 38-42) on several occasions. There is a notable difference between his first version (Paris, Louvre) of around 1526 which is clearly indebted to Raphael´s painting of that subject (Rome, Galleria Borghese), and his other versions painted between 1559 and 1572. The main differe
Christ shown to the People is an unfinished painting that allows for the direct study of the pictorial process, specifically the underlying drawing. It is a work in progress for which the first stages of execution (preparation of the support and preliminary drawing) have been completed. The painting stage has begun and reaches different degrees of completion depending on the figure in question. Th
This is the central panel of the altar piece in the archdeacon’s chapel in the cathedral of Zaragoza, built by Bernardo Villalba, archdeacon of this city, and Jaime Hospital, canon and archdeacon of Belchite. Giner represents Saint Vincent dressed as a deacon with two angels playing instruments and the donor kneeling on the left. He is on his feet, stepping on a moor; he has a book and a palm in o
On 14 February 1612 Juan Bautista Maíno signed the contract to execute the paintings for the monastery church of San Pedro Mártir in Toledo. Maíno agreed to a period of eight months to make the paintings, which had to portray the scenes and episodes specified by the prior of the monastery. Despite the agreement reached in the contract, the paintings were not completed until De
The parable of Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31) has been interpreted in many ways: an apology of charitable works; a comparison between salvation and perdition, and between gentiles (Lazarus) and Jews (Epulon, the rich man); and the dogs who lick Lazarus´s sores have even been held to be an allusion to the Dominican preachers and their miraculous cures. Aikema has provided examples of sermons and contempo
On 14 February 1612 Juan Bautista Maíno signed the contract to execute the paintings for the monastery church of San Pedro Mártir in Toledo. Maíno agreed to a period of eight months to make the paintings, which had to portray the scenes and episodes specified by the prior of the monastery. Despite the agreement reached in the contract, the paintings were not completed until De
This painting depicts a passage from the Gospel of Saint John (19, 4-5) which recounts how after Christ had been whipped and crowned with thorns: Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them: Behold the man!. T
Titian represented the Gospel account of the burial of Christ (Matthew 27: 57-61; Mark 15: 44-47; Luke 23: 50-54; John 19: 38-42) on several occasions. There is a notable difference between his first version (Paris, Louvre) of around 1526 which is clearly indebted to Raphael´s painting of that subject (Rome, Galleria Borghese), and his other versions painted between 1559 and 1572. The main differe
Religion succoured by Spain (c.1572-75), belongs to the last group of paintings that Titian sent to Philip II in 1576, one year before the artist’s death. As such, it is almost seven decades older than the earliest work by Titian, The Virgin and Child between Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Roch (P288), c.1510. Contemplating the two together allows viewers to recognise and admire Titian’s excepti
The Museo del Prado has two paintings of this Gospel episode (Matthew 27: 32-33; Mark 21-22; Luke 23: 26-27) which narrates how Simon of Cyrene had to carry the cross for the exhausted Christ on the way to Golgotha. Although they were painted only five years apart, the paintings show obvious stylistic and conceptual differences.The earlier of the two (P439) has stronger narrative drive and shows C
Depicted full-length, the sitter is shown seated in a gallery opening onto a park. She wears a sweeping gown in the Empire style with a shawl over her arms and a turban-like headdress. This is a characteristic work by Lawrence, who habitually endowed his sitters with an air of serene distinction.
A research study published by Javier González Santos has revealed that the 19th-century inventories of the Museo del Prado accurately cited the subject of this drawing as alluding to the Holy Cross and the cave of Covadonga. In fact, this painting depicts the Apparition of the Victory Cross to the foot soldier Pelagius of Asturias in the Battle of Covadonga and is directly related to the en
Dibujo que reprenda a una Sibila sentada sobre nubes, sostiene un libro en la mano derecha y alza la cabeza, tocada con un turbante. Es apunte boloñés de mediados del s. XVII, inspirado en las composiciones de Domenichino (Texto extractado de Mena Marqués, M.: Catálogo de dibujos. VI. Dibujos italianos del siglo XVII, Museo del Prado, 1983, p.181-182).
A preparatory drawing for Disasters of War, 27, Charity. Once more, Goya eliminates any reference that could specifically identify the event being depicted in order to create an emotionally gripping scene whose main idea is once again the lack of respect for a human body. The nature of this subject may be what led Goya to intentionally present it in a way that keeps viewers from clearly identifyin
This drawing was first identified by Manuela Mena Marqués as a preparatory study for Prophet Jeremiah, one of a group of six prophets painted in fresco by Guercino for the cupola of Piacenza’s cathedral in 1627. Sir Denis Mahon, the renowned Guercino scholar, had separately noted other studies relating to the same commission, including some related to the figure of Jeremiah.Commissioned by
This is the first of a revealing series of sketches that Maella made at the Palazzo Spada, which is almost certainly one of the Roman collections most accessible to artists with scant resources. The young man’s likeness is a red-chalk rendering of a painting inventoried in 1759 at the Galleria Grande, where it was described as quadri in tela da testa con cornici antiche scompagne dorate uno rappre