Posted by Susan Benford
An exhibition of famous paintings by Caravaggio opened last week at Rome's Scuderie del Quirinale - with all the requisite ingredients of a blockbuster art exhibition. On the 400th anniversary of the death of "the painter of shadowy light", this art exhibition features only those works of art indisputably attributed to Caravaggio. Artvpaintings created by the Caravaggio "school", or baroque paintings of 
disputed attribution, are not here, leaving a rare opportunity for pure immersion in Caravaggio's most famous artwork. Astonishingly, some of the most famous paintings of the world are on loan from art museums around the world.
With patronage from the President of the Italian Republic, this exhibition assembles both well-known and infrequently viewed Caravaggio paintings. Among the more famous paintings are The Musicians (from the Metropolitan Museum), Basket of Fruit (from Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan), Judith Beheading Holofernes (Palazzo Barberini in Rome), and The Conversion of St. Paul (Cerasi Chapel, Rome).
Rather than being exhibited chronologically, the art paintings in 
the Caravaggio exhibition are hung to foster direct comparison among recurrent themes and subjects. For instance, Boy with a Basket of Fruit (above left) is juxtaposed with Bacchus (right). Also, multiple versions of a famous painting are juxtaposed -- like the three versions of St. John the Baptist, loaned from the Galleria Corsini, Nelson-Atkins Museum, and Capitoline Museums. Similarly, two versions of the Supper of Emmaus are shown for comparison: the one from the National Gallery in London (the version forged by Han van Meegeren, whose infamous exploits are richly detailed by Edward Dolnick in The Forger's Spell), and one from the Pinacoteca di Brera.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was born to a prestigious family from Caravaggio, Italy in 1571, a date firmly established only in 2007 by discovery of his baptism certificate. Despite the brevity of his life - he died at 39 - Caravaggio left innumerable contributions to art history, including artistic references to his legal entanglements. 
He had been sentenced to death for murder; shortly thereafter, he portrayed himself as the decapitated Goliath in his famous painting, David with the Head of Goliath (right).
What virtually guarantees blockbuster status for the Caravaggio exhibition is the rarity with which some of these art paintings are shown in temporary exhibitions. These include masterpiece paintings like Deposition from the Vatican Museums, Annunciation from the Museum of Nancy, the Crowning of Thorns from Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum, and his Lute Player from the Hermitage (below)- it's on loan only until mid-May, a month before this exhibition ends on June 13. So if you have any chance to visit Rome in the next four months, put this art exhibition at the top of your list!
Posted by Susan Benford
Which famous paintings have had the greatest impact on art history? And which famous painters, too? A tall (and subjective) order, for sure, but one that's approachable with a simple methodology.
Here's how: starting with major art history textbooks (those used in AP art history, college art history, and art appreciation courses) and "Best of" art books (like the late Thomas Hoving's Greatest Works of Art in Western
Civilization), we recorded which famous paintings were discussed by this array of some forty art historians (in some 17,000 pages). We counted the "votes", or citations, for each famous artwork, beginning with Renaissance paintings and ending with early Pop art. And then we plucked out the 250 most-cited art paintings.
Curious which famous paintings were discussed, analyzed and assessed most often?
In third place, a tie among these five famous paintings:
Pablo Picasso, Guernica. Reina Sofia, Madrid.
Raphael, Philosophy (School of Athens), Vatican, Rome.
Jean-Antoine Watteau, Embarkation for Cythera. Louvre, Paris.
Matthias Gruenewald, The Isenheim Altar. Musee d'Unterlinden, Colmar, France.
These famous artworks received the second most citations:
Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte - 1884. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.
Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor). Museo del Prado, Madrid.
And the painting that was most discussed by these luminaries of art history? Les Demoiselles by Pablo Picasso. Indisputably one of the most famous paintings of the world, it may be seen at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Know an art history know-it-all? Let'em try to name these famous paintings!
Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles. Oil on canvas, 1907. 8' x 7' 8". Museum of Modern Art, New York
Read and discover more about art history with Masterpiece Cards, art history cards of 250 famous paintings made between the Renaissance and 1960s. Each art painting is both reviewed by an art historian (or two), who places the work in its historical and social context, and brilliantly reproduced, with art museum approved images. Discover Masterpiece Cards here!
Posted by Susan Benford
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland, the son of a Calvinist pastor. His early life was marked by career uncertainty: he left school in 1869 to work for an art dealer, who fired him seven years later; he spent two years as a lay preacher working with impoverished miners, but was denied ordination because Calvinist authorities considered him overly passionate. At the age of 27, van Gogh resolved to become an artist, receiving lifelong emotional and financial support from his brother, Theo. This support included frequent letters written between the two, providing an boon for art history - they facilitate analysis of the relationship between each of van Gogh's works of art and the historical context in which it was painted (click van Gogh letters for the complete English transcriptions of all 900+ letters to and from him).
From 1883 to 1885, van Gogh painted at his father's vicarage in Nuenen, Holland, where he painted The Potato
Jean-Francois Millet, The Sower. Oil on canvas, 1850. 40" x 32.5". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Eaters. In it, his empathy toward coal miners reveals influences from 19th century Realism, from van Gogh's personal ministry with this same population, from the famous painter, Jean-Francois Millet (1814-1875), and from his lesser known contemporary, Jozef Israels (1824-1910). The realistic art and peasant imagery of Millet were enormously influential on van Gogh, especially Millet's famous painting, The Sower. In a letter to Theo describing
Jozef Israels, Peasant Family at Table. Oil on canvas, 1882. Approximately 28" x 41". Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdamhis own painting of peasants, van Gogh said, "While I was doing it I thought again about what has so rightly been said of Millet's peasants - ‘His peasants seem to have been painted with the soil they sow'". Van Gogh also admired Israels, a painter of fishermen and peasants whom van Gogh described to Theo as the "Dutch Millet". Israels' Peasant Family at Table doubtlessly motivated van Gogh to create his own version of a peasants' meal.
Compositionally, The Potato Eaters echoes Israels' work of art. Van Gogh's painting, however, has darker hues, an impasto paint texture, and more influence of Rembrandt's tenebrism (a painting style employed by Caravaggio and followers in which a few objects are brightly lit while the majority are in heavy shadow). Its
Vincent van Gogh, The Potato Eaters. Oil on canvas, 1885. Approximately 32" x 45". Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdamperspective is askew - look how abruptly the ceiling beams recede - and reveals van Gogh's technical naivete. Perhaps this lack of experience permits his passion to exude, however. The peasants' gnarled hands and fingers evince severe arthritic pain, while the folds and wrinkles in their tattered clothing seem to restrain some unwieldy force within. On the wall, the Crucifixion picture and clock seem poised to jump off the wall rather than remain attached. This explosive energy within this work of art is a heartfelt but unsentimental contrast to its solemnity and tranquility, in which these peasants have merely coffee and potatoes to eat after a physically taxing day. Van Gogh was pleased with Potato Eaters, writing to Theo that "in contrast to a great many other paintings, it has rusticity and a certain life in it. And then, although it's done differently, in a different century from the old Dutchmen, Ostade, for instance, it's nevertheless out of the heart of peasant life and - original."
Van Gogh's painting career was tragically abbreviated by his unspecifiable mental illness; the physician who admitted him to a psychiatric hospital in 1888 noted that Van Gogh had "acute mania with hallucinations of sight and hearing." His failure to achieve financial stability was profoundly troubling - in his lifetime, he sold only one painting, Red Vineyard at Arles, had no patrons, and was forced to remain financially dependent on Theo. Although he had 
recently received a postive review from the art critic Alberet Aurier (read it here), van Gogh shot himself and died in 1890.
Van Gogh's impact on art history is incalcuabale: in one decade, he created roughly 1000 works of art (including 70 paintings in his final 70 days) and inspired Fauvists, Expressionists and legions of famous painters including Gauguin (1848 - 1903), Matisse (1869 - 1854), Maurice Vlaminck (1876 - 1958), Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876 - 1907), and Francis Bacon (1909 - 1992). Even with the brevity of his life, van Gogh remains one of the most famous artists in art history.
Van Gogh, Red Vineyard in Arles. Oil on canvas, 1888. Pushkin Museum.
Posted by Susan Benford
The most famous artwork created by Hubert and Jan van Eyck (ca. 1390 - 1441) is the renowned Ghent Altarpiece, completed in 1432. This masterpiece of Renaissance paintings consists of 24 panels hinged together in a polytych; 12 art paintings are visible when the altarpiece is either fully open or closed. The best known panel - and an icon of religious paintings - is The Adoration of the Lamb.
The Adoration of the Lamb, panel from the Ghent Altarpiece. Completed 1432.
Based on a passage from the Book of Revelations read on All Saints Day (November 1), this painting shows the Lamb of God in a meadow, with the community of saints arriving from the four corners of the earth. In Christian belief, the Lamb of God was sacrificed to redeem humanity from the Original Sin of Adam and Eve. The Lamb of God's blood is captured in a chalice, while angels surrounding the altar hold the Instruments of the Passion: the column upon which Christ was flogged; the cross and nails from his Crucifixion; the lance which pierced him; and the sponge used to moisten his lips when he hung on the cross.
The two groups approaching the Altar in the background are the holy confessors, bishops and
cardinals (identifiable by their red, flat hats, above), and the holy Virgins (below). They carry palms to symbolize the triumph of martyrdom over death.
In the left foreground (below) are representatives from the Old Testament and various well-known
pagans, including the Roman poet, Virgil; he is in the center wearing a white robe and laurel crown. The group in the right foreground (below) includes the Twelve Apostles, shown in front.
The sheer dazzle and brilliance of this famous painting are impossible to reproduce (and nearly as challenging to describe). The late Thomas Hoving, author of "Greatest Works of Art of Western Civilization",commented
The painting is renowned for how every detail is brilliantly rendered. The realism of this work is literally breathtaking and there is simply no other work in existence that can come near to the intense concentration of the utter reality of everything in the picture, but especially of the details. Everything... seems to have been (and perhaps was) painted with a single-hair brush.
If you're lucky enough to be in Belgium.. get this famous painting and the Saint Bavo Cathedral on your itinerary!
Are you a fan of famous paintings? So are we! Discover Masterpiece Cards, art history cards that explore and explain 250 famous paintings that have indelibly shaped art history.
Summarizing five centuries of the history of painting, the Cards examine Renaissance paintings to early Pop artwork, from Michelangelo to Matisse, and all the famous painters between them!
Posted by Susan Benford
One of the most famous artworks of the 15th century - and one of the most renowned religious paintings of any century - is the Altarpiece of the Lamb. Called The Ghent Altarpiece due to its location in the Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, its creators were Hubert and Jan van Eyck (ca. 1390 - 1441); Jan completed the altarpiece in 1432, six years after his brother's death, making it impossible to know which famous painter was reponsible for which panels. Regardless, the altarpiece remains a sterling example of a polyptych, or hinged, multi-panelled painting. As the folding altarpiece is opened, it reveals additional subjects and narratives to its audience.
Van Eyck's masterpiece religious painting consists of twenty four panels of varying sizes and
The Ghent Altarpiece (open). Completed 1432. Tempera and oil on wood, 11'6" by 15'1". Cathedral of St. Bavo, Ghent. shapes aligned in two rows, such that twelve panels are visible with the altarpiece open, and twelve when closed.
When open, the altarpiece depicts the Redemption of Man. In the upper registry,or row of panels, God the Father appears in a frontal pose with a raised hand and a crown at his feet; he is flanked by John the Baptist, who wears a green robe over his hair shirt, and the Virgin, as in the Deesis. On either side are choirs of music-making angels, including Saint Cecilia at her organ. Adam and Eve are portrayed illusionistically in stone niches.
On the step behind the crown at the Lord's feet is a noteworthy inscription: "On his head, life without death. On his brow, youth without age. On his right, joy without sadness. On his left, security without fear." These words capture the Franciscan conception of God as the benevolent Father of the human race, supplanting earlier beliefs in a judgmental, austere God.
The bottom registry is dominated by the most famous artwork in the altarpiece, The Adoration of the Lamb by All Saints. Laden with symbolism (and the subject of a future post!), The Adoration depicts the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, as the Just Judges, The Warriors of Christ, the Holy Hermits and the Holy Pilgrims convene.
The closed Altarpiece consists of three rows. At the top, two Old Testament prophets and two sibyls herald the inevitability of the
The Ghent Altarpiece (closed). Completed 1432. Tempera and oil on wood, approx. 11' 6" by 7' 7".
Annunciation. In the middle is the Annunciation - the angel Gabriel, who foretold the birth of Christ and John the Baptist, delivers his message to Mary (right). Her answer is, as in Jan van Eyck's The Annunciation, 
written upside down for God (and not the viewer) to read. The central lower panel shows John the Baptist, who cradles a lamb, and John the Evangelist, who grasps a chalice. Both of these are painted in grisaille, simulating sculpture, and are related directly to the altarpiece: Saint Bavo Cathedral was dedicated to John the Baptist, and John the Evangelist wrote the Book of Revelation, the source for the interior images. On either side of the saints are believed to be the altarpiece's donors, Jodocus Vijd and his wife, Isabel Borluut.
The van Eyck altarpiece is known for its minutely realistic depiction of every detail, reminding us that both van Eycks trained as miniaturists. As the late Thomas Hoving noted in Greatest Works of Art of Western Civilization, "A visitor could spend a week viewing just the amazing crown. The transformation of base materials to the divine, the sheen of gold on embroidered garments, in no way takes away from the overall impression of devotion and piety. For reverence, the Ghent Altarpiece wins out even over Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling frescoes."
For information about new insights into the Altarpiece, read this analysis from Lotte Brand Philip
here.
Posted by Susan Benford
When I attended my first art history conference after publishing 250 Masterpieces in Western Painting, I was censured by a 
feminist art historian for the term "masterpieces". At 50ish, each of us had forayed during the 1970s and 80s into male-dominated venues like business, academia and politics, to name a few. I was stunned to be labelled "anti-feminist" for use of the word "masterpiece", so on this nippy Boston day, I researched its etymology. To wit:
The Online Etymology Dictionary reports "masterpiece" is circa 1600, from master + piece, and is a translation of the Dutch word, meesterstuk, meaning "work by which a craftsman attains the rank of master". This work was completed by an apprentice, later a journeyman, who often was unpaid in his studies with a veteran.
Trade guilds stipulated that a person operating his own shop had to be first recognized as a "master" by the guild. After its approval of the piece, the artist was only then permitted to start his shop and hire apprentices. This "master piece" not only marked passage into a new business, but also became the label for an artist's finest artwork.
So a clarification is in order -- "masterpiece" refers to artwork that is the pinnacle of an artist's accomplishment, not to historical gender inequity. That's a different topic entirely!
Posted by Susan Benford
With 2300 art paintings in its collection of European paintings, the National Gallery can be overwhelming. In fact, most art museums are -- which is when (and where) Masterpiece Cards' research is indispensable.
We surveyed nearly two dozen art history books to learn which art paintings were discussed most frequently by today's art historians - think "the greatest hits of art history", or a crash course in art appreciation. These art paintings, which cover Renaissance paintings to 19th century works, are in bold-face, and are included in our boxed set of art history flashcards (see a sample Masterpiece Card). The other paintings here are "runner-ups", according to art history pros. If you're lucky enough to be visiting London, this National Gallery itinerary will amaze and amuse. Have fun!
Bellini, Giovanni. Doge Leonardo Loredon. Oil on wood, 1501
Botticelli, Sandro. Mystical Nativity. Oil on canvas, 1500 or 1501
Bronzino, Agnolo. An Allegory (Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time). Oil on wood, before 1545
Canaletto. Venice: The Basin of San Marco on Ascension Day. Oil on canvas, c. 1735 - 1741
Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da. The Supper at Emmaus. Oil on canvas, 1601
Constable, John. The Hay Wain. Oil on canvas, 1821
della Francesca, Piero. The Baptism of Christ. Tempera on wood, c. 1440 - 1450
Gainsborough, Thomas. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews. Oil on canvas, c. 1748 - 1749
Hogarth, William. Marriage a la Mode: The Tete a Tete. Oil on canvas, c. 1743. Read about this art painting here. 
William Hogarth. Oil on canvas, ca. 1743. 28" x 36". National Gallery, London.
Holbein the Younger, Hans. Erasmus of Rotterdam oil on panel, c. 1523
Holbein the Younger, Hans. Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve (The Ambassadors). Oil on oak panel, 1533
Hooch, Pieter de. The Courtyard of a House in Delft. Oil on canvas, 1658
Kalf, Willem. Still Life with Lobster, Drinking Horn and Glasses. Oil on canvas, 1653. Read about Willem Kalf's art painting and see it here.
Lorrain, Claude. Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba. Oil on canvas, 1648
Michelangelo, The Entombment. C. 1500-1501. Read about Michelangelo's famous paintings - there are four!
Morisot, Berthe. Summer's Day. Oil on canvas,1879
Poussin, Nicolas. The Abduction of the Sabine Women. Oil on canvas, c. 1633 - 1634
Rauschenberg, Robert. Bed. Oil and pencil on pillow, quilt and sheet on wooden supports,1955
Rubens, Peter Paul. Portrait of Suzanne Fourment (Le Chapeau de paille). Oil on wood, 1625
Rubens, Peter Paul. The Judgement of Paris. Oil on panel, 1632 - 1635.
Ruisdael, Jacob van. Two Watermills and an open Sluice near Singraven. Oil on canvas, c. 1650 - 1652
Seurat, Georges. Bathers at Asnieres. Oil on canvas, c. 1883 - 1884
Titian. Bacchus and Ariadne. Oil on canvas, 1520-1530. Read an art analysis of Bacchus and Ariadne. 
Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne. Oil on canvas, c. 1522-23. 5' 9" x 6' 3". National Gallery, London Turner, Joseph Mallord William. The "Fighting Temeraire" Tugged to her Last Berth to be Broken Up. Oil on canvas, 1838
Uccello, Paolo. The Battle of San Romano(left panel of a triptych). Tempera on panel, c. 1445. Read an art analysis of The Battle of San Romano, and see images of this famous painting.
van Dyck, Sir Anthony. Equestrian Portrait of Charles I. Oil on canvas, c. 1636
van Eyck, Jan. Man in a Red Turban (Self-Portrait?). Tempera and wood on panel, 1433.
Jan van Eyck. Tempera and oil on wood, 1433. 13 1/8" x 10 1/8". National Gallery, London.
van Eyck, Jan. Arnolfini Portrait. Oil on oak, 1434. Read art analysis of van Eyck's art painting.
Velazquez, Diego. Venus with a Mirror (The Rokeby Venus). Oil on canvas, 1644 - 1648.
Wright (of Derby), Joseph. An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, Oil on canvas, 1768.
Posted by Susan Benford
One of Titian's most famous paintings, Bacchus and Ariadne, is one of five commissioned by Alfonso d'Este (1486-1534) for his palace in Ferrara, Italy. Like many Italian Renaissance princes, he had a private art gallery, known as a camerino or studiolo. His was a camerino d'alabastro, or small alabaster room, with white marble-veneered walls to showcase his collection of Renaissance artwork.
Giovanni Bellini and Titian, Feast of the Gods. Oil on canvas, 5' 7" x 6' 2". National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
The paintings commissioned for the Alabaster Room are all bacchanals based loosely on Roman rites and rituals described by the poet Ovid (43 B.C. - A.D. 1). The centerpiece of the Alabaster Room was Feast of the Gods (above) by Giovanni Bellini (1430/1435 - 1516), the greatest Venetian painter of the 15th century.
Like Feast, the other four commissions treated the theme of love. These works are Dosso Dossi's Aeneas in the Elysian Fields, and three art paintings by Titian: Worship of Venus; The Bacchanal of the Andrians, and the best known painting, Bacchus and Ariadne.
Titian, The Worship of Venus. Oil on canvas, 1516 - 1518. 5'8" x 5'8". Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete, aided Theseus in his escape from the Minotaur's labyrinth, subsequently falling in love with the Athenian hero. Ungrateful for her assistance, he callously abandoned her on the Greek island of Naxos, where she wandered in mourning. In Bacchus and Ariadne, she hopelessly extends her hand toward Theseus' dimly visible ship. At that moment, her life is miraculously transformed by the scene Titian memorializes in this landmark painting - love at first sight from, and toward, Bacchus, the god of wine.
Bacchus is immediately recognizable both by the laurel and grape leaves adorning his hair, and by his company of satyrs and maenads (Bacchus groupies); one of these crashs cymbals while in a pose mirroring Ariadne's. He bounds from his chariot, pulled here
Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne. Oil on canvas, c. 1522-23. 5' 9" x 6' 3". National Gallery, London by cheetahs rather than leopards. This deviation from tradition is Titian's nod to Bacchus' conquest of India. On the far right, the strongman Laocoon would have been immediately identifiable to the Italian Renaissance audience: an antique statue of this Trojan priest was unearthed in 1505, inspiring cross-references from many Renaissance painters and artists. The fat, elder man seemingly asleep on a donkey is Silenus, the head of the satyrs and foster-father to Bacchus.
In the middle foreground is a baby satyr who alone directly engages the viewer. He dons a garland and drags a calf head; its dismemberment - and drinking of its blood by the revelers - is a gruesome part of Bacchus' ritual. In the lower left, Titian's name is inscribed in Latin on the urn, and translates as "Titian made this picture". He was one of the first Renaissance painters to sign his artwork, and was an early proponent of improving the lowly social status of painters.
Curiously, this didn't include maintaining the integrity of paintings completed by others. Feast, completed in 1514, was altered by Ferrara's court painter, Dosso Dossi, who reportedly altered the painting to coordinate with other decorations in the Alabaster Room. Additional (and well-documented) alterations were made in 1529 by Bellini's student, Titian, who completely repainted the background. It is not known if this alteration was also made to complement other 'decorations' in the Alabaster Room! When the Este family lost control on Ferrara in 1598, these famous paintings and sculptures were dispersed.
Note: If anyone knows when it became unacceptable to re-paint another artist's completed work, I'd appreciation learning -- it is so remote from today's standards!
Posted by Susan Benford
One of the most famous paintings in Renaissance art is Paolo Uccello's triptych, The Battle of San Romano. Born Paolo di Dono, he was nicknamed Uccello (Italian for "bird") because he frequently sketched them. His Battle of San Romano was painted on three panels now located in the National Gallery, Uffizi, and Louvre. Together, they depict the legendary (but bloodless) battle of 1432 between Florence and Siena. The
Tempera on wood panel, approx. 6' x 10'7". National Gallery, London.
onset of the skirmish is depicted on the London panel (above). Here, the Sienese have ambushed the Florentine commander, Niccolo da Tolentino, and his force of twenty horsemen. Greatly outnumbered, the Florentines held their enemy at bay for eight hours until reinforcements arrived and vanquished the Sienese.
This panel is renowned as a tour de force of 
pageantry, of battle imagery, and of Uccello's introduction of one point (linear) perspective into Renaissance art. The broken lances on the ground form receding lines, or orthogonals, which converge on a fixed vanishing point. Note that the prone soldier is conveniently aligned on an orthogonal (and that no blood sullies the scene, in spite of the gaping hole piercing his armor!) The vanishing point, located by the horse's head, creates an illusion of depth; along with Niccolo's red and gold headdress and rearing white horse, they compel the viewer to focus on the pivotal and heroic figure.
Niccolo was a condottiere, or professional mercenary, and a confidant of the Medici. One can identify him immediately by his personal insignia, the knot of Solomon; this "knot of eternity" is shown on the banner held aloft by the bare-headed standard bearer. The battle is waged in the foreground space, with the middle ground blanketed by hedges of roses, oranges and pomegranates, all fertility symbols. In the distant cultivated fields, other warriors prepare crossbows.
In the center panel housed in the Uffizi (below), Bernadino della 
Tempera on wood panel, approx. 6' x 10'9"
Ciarda, the leader of the Sienese mercenaries, is struck by a lance and knocked from his horse. The crux of the battle shows Bernadino sprawled on the ground to the right of the painting's central axis. The final panel at the Louvre - and the last temporally - depicts Niccolo aiding the Florentine mercenary, Michelotto da Cotignola, as they counterattack the Sienese across the Arno river.
Tempera on wood panel, approx. 6' x 10' 7". Musee National du Louvre. Art historians have long contended that this masterpiece of Renaissance art was commissioned by Piero de Medici for the newly constructed Medici Palace. However, Marilyn Stokstad, author of Art History, suggests these famous paintings were commissioned instead by Lionardo Bartolini Salimbeni (1404-1479). Although his heir and son, Damiano, filed a complaint stating that Lorenzo de' Medici "forcibly removed" these masterpieces, none was returned to Damiano - an "in palace" inventory of 1492 records that all three works hung on the walls of Lorenzo's private quarters in the Medici Palace.
Most famous paintings are best appreciated in person (the Google Earth foray into the Prado is close to an exception) but this is especially true for London
's panel of
The Battle. The raised gold decorations on the harnesses are actually embossed in gold; their sculptural effect reminds you that Paolo Uccello apprenticed with
Lorenzo Ghiberti. More significantly, Uccello designed these works to be hung above eye level, or approximately 7 feet from the ground. In person, it is apparent that Niccolo's arm and horse were intended to be viewed from below rather than at eye level. Regardless of how they are hung, though,
The Battle of San Romano deserves its status as one of the most famous paintings of the world.
Are you a fan of famous paintings and their intriguing histories? Check out Masterpiece Cards - these art history Cards reproduce and review 250 of "the greatest hits" in the Western history of painting. Look at a sample Masterpiece Card!
Posted by Susan Benford
Among the most famous paintings of the Renaissance, The Arnolfini Portrait has been enigmatic since Jan van Eyck (ca. 1370/90 - 1441) painted it over 450 years ago. He left no documents to clarify its meaning, and little is known of his early life or training. From court and legal documents, scholars have determined that van Eyck was retained in 1425 by Philip the Good, the duke of Burgundy (best known for having captured Joan of Arc). Art historians generally attribute 25 artworks to van Eyck, while noting that signatures are rare on 15th century paintings. Instead, painters signed the frames which often became lost or
Right: Margaret, The Artist's Wife, 1439. Oil on oak, 1439. Approx. 13" x 10". On loan at National Gallery, London, from City Museums (Bruges)
replaced. In the case of van Eyck's Renaissance paintings, at least two carry his signature: Man in a Red Turban, believed to be a self-portrait, (below) and Margaret, The Artist's Wife (right).
Jan van Eyck. Man in a Red Turban (Self Portrait?), 1433. Tempera and oil on wood. 13 1/8" x 10 1/8". National Gallery, London. In both cases, the original frame bears van Eyck's motto, "Als ik kan", or the pun, "As I or Eyck can". While The Arnolfini Portrait lacks its original frame, art historians agree that it's a van Eyck painting - but disagree about its intrepretation.
Above the concave mirror on the back wall, van Eyck has inscribed, "Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1934", which translates as "Jan van Eyck was here, 1434". Typically, though, a painting in 15th century Flanders would have been signed, "Jan van Eyck made this".
Jan van Eyck. The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434. Oil on wood. 32 1/4" x 23 1/2". National Gallery, London.
The verbiage van Eyck used is what an eyewitness to a legal document would've used, fueling controversy about whether this is a wedding portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife, Giovanna Cenami, or a "power of attorney" painting in which the husband grants legal permission for his wife to act on his behalf during an absence. If this is a wedding portrait, we can safely surmise that Giovanni is 30 years old or younger: in 15th century Flanders, a marriage ultimatum was given to unmarried men who were thirty, with names of those who failed to marry recorded in the dreaded "Book of Disgrace".
The German scholar Erwin Panofsy claimed in 1934 that this Renaissance painting was indeed a wedding portrait, with van Eyck seen in the mirror's reflection (below) and his signature verifying his presence. Various features of The Arnolfini Portrait are associated with matrimony: the couple has removed their shoes in recognition of its sanctity, transforming the
Detail. The Arnolfini Portrait.
bedchamber into a holy place. There are various references to the fertility sought in marriage: the bedpost finial is a wooden statue of Saint Margaret, the patron saint of childbirth, while the fruit on the windowsill and chest alludes to abundance. In keeping with the customs of the time, the woman's robe is cinched above her stomach, giving the appearance of pregnancy but intended to emphasize fertility. While the dog is a rare breed (affenpinscher) indicating the couple's prosperity, it is a traditional symbol of fidelity (thanks to Gardner's Fred Kleiner for noting that the common dog name "Fido" comes from the Latin fido, to trust, the root of ‘fidelity). The ten roundels surrounding the mirror show the Passion of Christ, suggesting the Christian idea that the "eye of God" will watch the newlywed couple.
Research by Lorne Campbell in 1998, however, contends that The Arnolfini Portrait is a double portrait and not a wedding picture. Campbell states that the wedding ceremony Panofsky cited in his argument occurred in 1447 -- four years after the painting was signed, and also six years after van Eyck's death. Barring newly discovered historical documents, The Arnolfini Portrait will remain enigmatic, with the intentions of the artist and patron unclear.
Note: I was amused and amazed to learn that Margaret, The Artist's Wife, was considered a 33 year old beauty dressed in finery of the day -- her crimson gown lined with fur, and her fluted veil were signs of her prosperity.
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