Should chiaroscuro paintings show much in the way of colour, given that in the dark only the rods in our retinas function, giving us monochrome vision?
Caravaggio
How we got from one of the most senior gods, and a winged young man, to a chubby infant armed with a bow and arrow, let alone an unknown former saint.
How well do paintings of the stories of Perseus and Theseus fit Booker’s Seven Basic Plots? As he gives these as examples of Overcoming the Monster, do his stages work?
In myth and legend, apples have determined the future of civilisation twice. They’re also some of the most enduring objects to be seen in still life paintings.
A timeline of milestone paintings, first surviving examples of the achievements of the Italian Renaissance, from 1320-1596.
From about 1530, painting started to change. Brushstrokes became visible, anatomy exaggerated, composition less balanced and ideal. First Mannerism, then came the Baroque.
Between about 1607-21 she painted exclusively still lifes. Highly innovative, she led the way for the many painters who succeeded her.
Until the seventeenth century, still life paintings were occasional curiosities, From the Romans and Hans Memling to the early Dutch Golden Age the genre developed steadily.
From Aphrodite to Vesta, a reference summary of all the major Classical goddesses, with links to individual accounts.
A nymph cursed by Hera to repeat the words just spoken to her, and a youth who falls in love with his own image. Together the result in some of the finest narrative paintings.
The Eclectic Light Company 