MELCHIOR DE HONDECOETER (1636-1695) Cockerell with Hens in a Farmyard (1681) Oil on canvas (84 x 69 cm) Private collection To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Pupil of his father Gysbert Hondecoeter and of his uncle Jan Baptiste Weenix, Melchior began his career with a different speciality from …
Month: February 2018
An English Beauty
SIR PETER LELY Diana Kirke, later Countess of Oxford (1665-70) Oil on canvas (135 x 108 cm) Yale Center for British Art, Yale, Connecticut, USA To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" The portrait of Diana Kirke is one of Lely's most sensuous and beautiful. It exemplifies his lush …
Saint Gines
LUISA IGNACIA ROLDÁN (1652-1706) San Ginés de La Jara (1692) Wood, painted and gilded. Height: 176 cm Paul J. Getty Museum, Los Angeles To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and open it on a new tab Luisa Roldán (better known as La Roldana) was the first Spanish female sculptor on record and one of …
The Lamentation
ADRIAEN VAN DER WERFF (1659-1722) The Lamentation (1685) Oil on copper 63 x 51 cm Mr Frederick Ruskin´s collection, on loan to the Phoenix Art Museum, USA To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Adriaen van der Werff was schooled in the fijnschilder (1) tradition of Gerrard Dou (1613-1675) …
The Travelling Earl
ANTON VAN DYCK (1599-1641) Portrait of the Earl of Denbigh (1633-34) Oil on canvas 247 x 148 cm The National Gallery, London To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" William Feilding (c.1582-1643), first Earl of Denbigh, was very well-connected. In 1607 he married the sister of George Villiers, soon …
Jacob van Reygersberg
ROMBOUT VERHULST (1624-1698) Bust of Jacob van Reygersberg (1671) Marble: Height: 63 cm - Width: 57 - Depth: 33 cm Paul J. Getty Museum, Los Angeles To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Rombout Verhulst was one of the finest Flemish sculptors of the XVIIth century. Born in Malines, …
The Villa of Maecenas
CLAUDE-JOSEPH VERNET (1714-1789) The Waterfalls near Tivoli and the Villa of Maecenas Oil on canvas 101 x 138 cm Mauritshuis, The Hague To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" The painting was described in the sale catalogue of 1763 as a view near the town of Narni and was …
Madame Adelaide
ADELAIDE LABILLE-GUIARD (1749-1803) Portrait of Madame Adelaide de France (1787) Oil on canvas 271 x 194 cm Chateau de Versailles To enlarge the image, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Adélaide Labille was born in Paris, the youngest of eight children. Her father was a haberdasher who owned a shop named A la …
Augustin Pajou
ADELAIDE LABILLE-GUIARD (1749-1803) Portrait of the sculptor Augustin Pajou (1783) Pastel on paper: 72 x 63 cm Musée du Louvre Adélaide Labille was born in Paris, the youngest of eight children. Her father was a haberdasher who owned a shop named A la Toilette; by a curious coincidence, the future Madame du Barry worked in …
A mysterious Gentleman
FRANCOIS-ANDRE VINCENT (1746-1816) Portrait of a gentleman (maybe Monsieur Baillon) Oil on canvas 117 x 89,5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam To enlarge the image, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" It gives me a great deal of pleasure to rescue a fine artist from oblivion. This is the case of François-André Vincent, who …
Old Masters 