Paintings by Michelangelo, Hieronymus Bosch, Grünewald, Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Paolo Veronese, Jan Brueghel the Elder and others.
de Vos
Expressing a weariness with this life and yearning for the next, they originated in Flanders, but soon became popular in the Dutch Republic in its Golden Age.
Originating in the Northern Renaissance, these paintings expressed feelings of emptiness, and the futility of earthly life. Examples of these elaborate allegories.
Dogs guarding the underworld, attributes of Diana, discovering Tyrian purple, gathering scraps under the Last Supper, and telling part of the story.
In earlier paintings, unicorns are usually intended to be real animals. They also have symbolic associations with chastity which lasted longer.
In the Roman arena, with a runaway slave, sparing the life of Daniel, at the feet of St Jerome and St Rufina, and snoring gently on the rug.
Without a title and the story in a fable, paintings can be hard to identify, and even harder to read. Examples from 1500-1751.
In quest of the Chimera from classical mythology in paintings of Michelangelo, Bosch, de Vos and others.
The popular parable from the Gospel of Luke, told in paintings from the 17th century, including Rubens, Rembrandt, and Murillo.
Concludes a history of the unicorn in paint, from travellers’ tales and Paulus Potter, through Gustave Moreau into the early 20th century.
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