AUGUSTIN PAJOU (1730-1809) Portrait of Jean-Sylvain Bailly (1791) Patinated plaster (75 x 49 x 28 cm) Los Angeles County Museum of Art To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Jean-Sylvain Bailly (1736-93), whose literary career was surpassed by his studies in astronomy and its history, was elected to the …
Month: March 2018
Portrait of Pieter Tjarck
FRANS HALS (1581/85-1666) Portrait of a Man / Portrait of Pieter Tjarck (1635-38) Oil on canvas (85 x 70 cm) Los Angeles County Museum of Art To enlarge the images, right-click on them and "Open in a new tab" The identity of the sitter in this magnificent portrait has sometimes been questioned, but there seems …
The Penitent Magdalen
GEORGES DE LA TOUR (1593-1652) The Penitent Magdalen with the Smoking Flame (c.1638-40) Oil on canvas (117 x 92 cm) Los Angeles County Museum of Art To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Georges de La Tour was the greatest tenebrist painter working in 17th-century France. Indeed since his …
Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria
ANTHONIS MOR / ANTON VAN DASHORST MOR (1518-1576) Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria (c.1558) Oil on canvas (95 x 76 cm) Museo del Prado, Madrid To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Anthonis Mor (as he is most widely known) is not a name familiar to many Old Masters lovers …
A young Gentleman
HUGH DOUGLAS HAMILTON (1740-1808) Portrait of a young gentleman Pastel on paper (23.5 x 20 cm) Location unknown To enlarge the image, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Hamilton was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1740, the son of a wig-maker. Unfortunately, there is not much documented evidence about his early years. …
The Entombment
PETER PAUL RUBENS (1577-1640) The Entombment (c.1612) Oil on canvas (131 x 130 cm) Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Recognized as the greatest painter of his day, Rubens received commissions from all over Europe and created profound, original statements of virtually every …
Grace Dalrymple Elliot
THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH Grace Dalrymple Elliot (c.1778) Oil on canvas (76 x 63 cm) The Frick Collection, New York To enlarge the image, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" It is very difficult to do justice to Gainsborough's portraits, sometimes it seems that there are not enough words in the English language to …
A Beautiful Girl
JEAN-ETIENNE LIOTARD (1702-1789) Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone at Seven Years of Age (1755) Pastel on vellum (57 x 43 cm) Paul Getty Museum To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Portraiture reached its most refined and sophisticated state during the 18th century. The number of artists whose chief occupation …
The Musicians’ Brawl
GEORGES DE LA TOUR (1593-1652) The Musicians' Brawl (c. 1625-30) Oil on canvas (86 x 141 cm) Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Born in Lorraine, a place where the Nordic, French and Italian cultures meet; a contemporary of Jacques Callot (1592-1635) and …
Self-portrait
MAURICE QUENTIN DE LA TOUR (1704-1788) Self-portrait (1751) Pastel on paper Amiens, Musee de Picardie To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Maurice Quentin de La Tour showed at a very early age outstanding aptitudes for drawing. At the age of 18, having decided to become an artist, he …
Old Masters 