Clown figures including Harlequin, Pulcinella and Pierrot are derived from the commedia dell’arte, a favourite of Watteau and other painters.
Goya
Are the two arms fending others off, raised in shock, surrender, or falling to earth? From light comedy to accounts of executions and war crimes.
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.
An overview starting with the sculptural folds of the late 13th century, peaking with Raphael and Rembrandt, and dissolving with Renoir and Sargent in the early 20th century.
Two movements concerned with depiction of clothing and fabrics: Costumbrism in Spain, with local customs, and wild fashion in French frou-frou.
Travel by sea was hazardous. Here are paintings of shipwrecks from Tintoretto to the early 19th century, as an introduction to The Tempest.
Interest in paintings of witchcraft grew in the Age of Enlightenment, with a series painted by Goya for the Duchess of Osuna.
The experience of colour in our buildings, indoor environments, clothing and objects we look at has changed. What used to be a privilege of class is now all but universal.
Examples from Wright of Derby, Turner, Millet, van Gogh, Bonnard and others. But how many used the monochrome of scotopic vision?
In many paintings, depiction of fabrics, textiles and other clothing materials is more challenging and important than that of flesh.