The colours you see in paintings today may have faded badly from their originals. Examples of madder lake, smalt and indigo.
Brueghel
From the tribute to a dead colleague, and a record of an important exhibition, to the downright enigmatic embedded paintings of Velázquez, Courbet and others.
Cameo views of landscapes were common practice during the Renaissance, and also had value in locating the primary view.
Transformations of Lycian peasants into frogs, Pygmalion’s statute into Galatea, the pregnant Myrrha, silkworm moths, and autumn.
Never paint children or animals, says the rule. This tribute to artists who ignored the rule shows work by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Goya, and others to Mary Cassatt.
The personification of the west wind, to the Greeks gentle and responsible for bringing the start of the growing season, and the abduction and rape of a nymph who became Flora.
Starting from Egyptian blue in ancient times, pigments preferred by painters for sky blue have changed repeatedly. Here’s a brief history.
From Jan van Eyck to Caillebotte and Claus, these paintings show the view beyond an open doorway, commonly as a means of incorporating a landscape.
This is when the year should really begin. A celebration of the real New Year from Botticelli to Pissarro, aided by Sisley, Van Gogh and others.
Fishing with rod and line plays a significant part in the myth of Daedalus, and adds calm and timelessness to many landscapes.
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