NICOLAES BERCHEM (1620-1683) An Italianate Landscape with Herders and their Flocks Oil on panel (36 x 45 cm) Private collection Of the 70 or so Berchems in public collections in Britain more than half are of drovers and milkmaids with cattle in Italianate landscapes, proving both the popularity of this genre and why his name …
Sportsmen in a Landscape
PAUL BRIL (c. 1554-1626) A Wooded Landscape with a Bridge and Sportsmen at the Edge of the River Oil on canvas (86.5 x 66 cm) Private Collection The most influential Italianate landscape painter of his time, Paul Bril was born in Breda c.1554. He trained in Antwerp with Damiaen Ortelmans and, only 14 years old, …
The Vision of St Francis
FEDERICO BAROCCI (c. 1530-1612) The Stigmatisation of St Francis (1594-95) Oil on canvas (360 x 245 cm) Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino Throughout his late period, Barocci continued to be much occupied with ecclesiastical commissions. Unlike the whole of the 1580's, during which he did not paint a single altarpiece for his native city, some …
A Morbid Sitter
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) George Augustus Selwyn (c.1764-66) Oil on canvas (99 x 76 cm) The Earl of Rosebery, Dalmeny House, near Edinburgh Apart from being an example of Reynolds' artistic virtuosity, this portrait is fascinating because it represents a distraught individual whose face does not reveal his morbid character. According to Nicholas Penny: "George …
The Countess
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) Anne, 2nd Countess Albemarle (c. 1759) Oil on canvas (126 x 101 cm) The National Gallery, London Although some colour has fled from the face in this portrait as is usual with Reynold's work of this period, the shadows there retain their transparency; the lights painted in the patterned black mantle …
Nicolas de Largillière
NICOLAS DE LARGILLIERE (1656-1746) Self-portrait (1711) Oil on canvas (80 x 65 cm) Chateau de Versailles To enlarge the image, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Largillière painted several portraits of himself: in 1699 (Tours, Musee des Beaux-Arts), 1711 (Versailles, Chateau), 1724 (Montpellier, Musee Fabre) and 1729 (Florence, Uffizi). These works …
Monsieur Lerambert
ALEXIS-SIMON BELLE (1674-1734) Portrait of Louis Lerambert Oil on canvas (130 x 99 cm) To enlarge the image, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Born into a family of artists Alexis-Simon Belle trained under Francois de Troy. He followed the teaching dispensed by the Royal Academy and won the Prix de …
A View of Versailles
JEAN-BAPTISTE MARTIN (1658-1735) View of the Forecourts of the Chateau de Versailles and the Stables (1688) Oil on canvas (260 x 184 cm) Chateau de Versailles Leading onto the Gallery, the Cool Room at Trianon linked the King's apartments, of which it was part, to those of Mme de Maintenon. The painting over the mantelpiece, …
Portrait of a Gardener
CARLO MARATTA (1625-1713) Portrait of Andre Le Notre (1679-80) Oil on canvas (112 x 85 cm) Chateau de Versailles To enlarge the image, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Carlo Maratta was one of the great Italian masters of the Late Baroque who excelled particularly in the genre of portraiture. From …
Portrait of a Portraitist
MARC NATTIER (1642-1705) Portrait of Gilbert de Seve Oil on canvas (117 x 88 cm) Chateau de Versailles To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" We normally associate the surname Nattier with Jean-Marc (1685-1766) the famous portraitist of Louis XV and his court, or even Jean-Baptiste (1678-1726). The …
Old Masters 