Traditionally identified as the woman who was a sinner and wept on Christ’s feet and wiped away her tears with her hair (Luke 7:36-50), Mary Magdalene is shown here as the hermit saint she became upon giving up her life of moral decadence, after her encounter with the Savior. She kneels in prayer at the entrance to her cave and raises her eyes to heaven, eyes that are perhaps disproportionately la
Lorenzo Lotto`s various depictions of the penitent Saint Jerome span early versions influenced by Albrecht Dürer and Giovanni Bellini (Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1506) and by young Raphael (Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant`Angelo, Rome, c.1509), to his most personal interpretations from the 1540s. Lotto`s Libro dei Conti (Book of Accounts) lists four paintings between 1544 and 1546 with thi
The vault of the former Hall of Ambassadors at the Buen Retiro Palace, constructed alongside the former Royal Quarters of San Jerónimo at the behest of the Count-Duke of Olivares as a royal residence for leisure and for the monarchs’ public and official receptions. In the eastern part of this complex, a small building was erected after the palace itself was completed (1632). It was designed
A more than half-length depiction of the saint, standing in front of a skull and contemplating the angel who shows him a glass recipient filled with transparent water, alluding to the purity that anyone aspiring to the priesthood should possess. In his humility, the saint thinks he will never reach such perfection and renounces the calling. In keeping with the mentality of the Counterreformation,
Although we do not know when Titian first treated this subject, it was probably in 1535, when he painted a Christ for Federico Gonzaga following a model provided by the duke. The earliest surviving Ecce Homo is the one he did for Charles V and in which one detects his attempt to distance himself from the usual iconic impression of these images which are typically frontal and bust length. Instead,
According to Jacobus de Voragine´s Golden Legend (c.1260), 14 years after Christ´s Passion, Mary Magdalene and her companions were abandoned and set adrift in a small boat to die. The boat miraculously landed on the shores of the Gulf of Marseilles, where the rest of the saint´s life ran its course. This place, in which she chose to devote herself to the contemplation of divine matters, was barren
The daughter of King Constus, Catherine of Alexandria lived in the early 4th century and was a martyr for her Christian faith. Famous for her beauty, wisdom, eloquence and chastity, she is frequently depicted at the moment of her mystical union with Christ.The center of the composition is the ring that the Christ child places on Catherine, who is shown in the sumptuous clothing and jewels that cor
Christ lies dead on a bed beside which Pope Pius V kneels, surrounded by angels. Above them, two angels hold a chalice and a communion wafer, symbols of his death and resurrection. On the lower part of the painting, the skeleton of Adam alludes to the first man and the redemption of Original Sin. Divers elements of the Passion appear on the bed and floor, such as the Crown of Thorns and the Whip.
This is a very significant example of Camilo´s skill at representing uncommon narrative events. It presents one of the episodes in the story of desecration and offense to a crucifix by a family of Portuguese Jews in Madrid in 1630. The episode was exploited by a political faction opposed to the Count Duke, whom they accused of tolerance toward the Jews. It stirred feelings in Madrid and led to the
A boy trying to do his homework buries his face in his hands to protect himself from the threat of an old woman´s whip. The brutality of the punishment is decisively underlined by the authoritative presence of the old woman, with her legs and hands open, her dominant figure contras with the smallness of the child. The almost animal characters of the woman´s face correspond to the irrationality of
The woman in the drawing is an allegorical representation of Reason, whose fundaments are Truth and Justice. With a set of scales in her left hand and a whip in her right, she strides forward, whipping the crows that symbolize the forces of darkness. This is probably a reference to the desire to abolish religious orders and the Inquisition.Goya’s Album C exemplifies the complexity of his work. Mad
This statue and its pair (E00414) were found in the area of the Egyptian sanctuaries at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, near Rome. Cardinal Camillo Massimo (1620-1677), their first owner following their rediscovery, had them reconstructed from fragments of various sculptures. This figure holds a whip, which is an attribute of Egyptian priests. The two sculptures probably decorated an artificial grotto
Es una litografía de Léon-Auguste Asselineau (1808-1889) que reproduce el lienzo de Claudio de Lorena conservado en el Museo Nacional del Prado (P02256). Esta estampa se entregaba con el cuadernillo CIII acompañado de un texto explicativo de José Musso y Valiente. Iba encuadernada en el tomo II de la serie dirigida por José de Madrazo, Colección litográfica de cuadros del rey de España el señor do
Es una litografía de Léon-Auguste Asselineau (1808-1889) que reproduce el lienzo de Caludio de Lorena conservado en el Museo Nacional del Prado (P02256). Esta estampa se entregaba con el cuadernillo CIII acompañado de un texto explicativo de José Musso y Valiente. Está encuadernada en el tomo II de la serie dirigida por José de Madrazo, Colección litográfica de cuadros del rey de España el señor d
Es una litografía de Léon-Auguste Asselineau (1808-1889) que reproduce el lienzo de Caludio de Lorena conservado en el Museo Nacional del Prado (P02256). Esta estampa se entregaba con el cuadernillo CIII e iba acompañado de un texto explicativo de José Musso y Valiente. Está encuadernada en el tomo II de la serie editada por el Real Establecimiento Litográfico, dirigida por José de Madrazo, Colecc
Es una litografía de Léon-Auguste Asselineau (1808-1889) que reproduce el lienzo de Claudio de Lorena conservado en el Museo Nacional del Prado (P02256). Esta estampa se entregaba con el cuadernillo CIII acompañado de un texto explicativo de José Musso y Valiente. Iba encuadernada en el tomo II de la serie dirigida por José de Madrazo, Colección litográfica de cuadros del rey de España el señor do