From two pairs of unicorns drawing the Duke and Duchess of Urbino to a horse-drawn fire engine racing through the countryside, how animals have drawn people everywhere.
de Nittis
A selection of meals eaten outdoors, by the gods, in Boccaccio’s Decameron, Manet’s controversial luncheon, and by a boating party.
In the 1870s, Manet and Monet introduced steam trains to the world of art. At the Salon, they were met with ridicule, but became an important theme in Impressionism.
Paintings by Botticelli, William Merritt Chase, Pierre Bonnard, Paxton, and Vuillard showing the first meal of the day.
Mud was a common problem in the streets of cities, and on all the roads, tracks and paths of the country. Why isn’t it seen more in paintings before 1850?
More virtuoso glassware as painted by William Holman Hunt, Chase, De Nittis, Vallotton, and others in the 19th century.
Two young women painters left Stockholm to study in Paris in 1883. Good friends, their paths diverged, but their paintings were full of light – including a real gem.
Many coasts are flat – a challenge to painters from the Netherlands and Belgium in particular. Here masters from the Golden Age, the Hague School, and others take on this challenge.
Degas was nothing if not thoroughly sociable. Here are some of his more significant artistic friendships, with paintings.
A look back at some of the series and some surprises which you might have missed over the last year.
The Eclectic Light Company 