Grisaille – grey underpainting used to set the tone for a finished work – is like underwear, waiting for richly coloured clothes to go on top. Not in these paintings, though.
Bosch
From sacred symbols in a mosaic of Theodora and the Adoration of the Lamb, to roadside watering holes, and the town’s fresh water supply.
What do paintings look like to someone with deuteranopia? Why do great paintings ‘draw’ the eye? Do we see the colours the artist intended? And how many words for blue are in Ukrainian?
Everyman’s journey through life, starting as a fallen human, moving with the haywain through sinful ways, and ending in Hell and eternal torment.
Physiognomy originated in ancient Greece, but was codified by Lavater in 1772; phrenology followed from 1796, and together they attracted many painters.
Once the mark of rural poverty, thatched roofs were common throughout the countryside of Europe. Here are some up to the 1890s.
One of the world’s most famous paintings, a conversation piece for his noble friends, was commissioned by a Count with strange voyeuristic tastes.
Raphael and Tintoretto creations, Noah’s thanksgiving, Bosch, and two wonderful paintings of Orpheus and the Animals.
Added to portraits to indicate the sagacity of the subject, owls were dear to the heart and brush of Hieronymus Bosch.
How many verbal stories or movies tell dozens of different stories? Here are paintings that are not only so rich in narrative, but tell all those stories at the same time.
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