Rembrandt’s Jewish Bride; Gérôme’s Carpet Merchant; Sargent’s Arab Woman; Cézanne’s Forest Scene. Each at different levels of detail.
Cézanne
Why do Canaletto’s gondolas not have shadows? Where did Cézanne get his shadows wrong, and why, and what colour are shadows really?
Rembrandt’s masterpiece looking deep into Bathsheba’s predicament, but it was von Stuck who first suggested that she may have been a willing participant.
Two pigments: straight Chromium Oxide, which is rather dull, and the more intense Viridian. Paintings by Böcklin, Renoir, Manet, Monet, Seurat, van Gogh, and Cézanne.
A mainstay for the Impressionists, their use in domestic products like wallpaper and even clothing killed people in the 19th century. Probably not Napoleon, though.
It’s not Chinese, and for centuries was ignored, as lead white was preferred. It came into use during the 19th century, and is seen in paintings by Friedrich, Cézanne, van Gogh, Klimt, and Hodler.
It’s easy to confuse anatomising, an autopsy, and surgery. Here’s a guide to their different readings, with some of the finest example paintings.
Arsenic sulphides, they were both used in alchemy, and used commonly in paintings from Ancient Egypt through to the late 29th century. Tintoretto loved them.
Indian Yellow was thought to have been extracted from cow urine, but has been found in few paintings. Chrome Yellow was the mainstay of the Impressionists and the nineteenth century.
Girl meets boy on a mission; boy cannot deviate from mission; boy leaves girl; girl heartbroken. But was this relationship doomed from the start by others?
