A goddess almost never painted, but her priestesses, the Vestal Virgins, were far more popular. A small selection, ending in one of Gêrome’s grandest arena paintings.
Lefebvre
Paintings of women covering their faces in embarrassment by Murillo, Gérôme, Corinth, and others.
Ever noticed how stern everyone looks in paintings? Here are some exceptions from Frans Hals, Murillo, Vermeer and others.
Titian seems to have understood exactly what Vittoria Colonna wanted, and in doing so changed art.
As narrative painting went into decline, Ophelia became even more popular. From Henrietta Rae through sub-aqua views to Waterhouse’s obsession.
Hosting Lord Byron’s Alpine Witch, as the birth canal for Thomas Cole’s ‘Voyage of Life’, and an attempt by Courbet to return to the womb? The versatility of caves.
Originally a portraitist in academic style, he was a Nabi in the early 1890s before developing his own simple but strange figurative paintings.
Although known for his paintings of nudes, many of his subjects were fully-clothed, and most were powerful women who overcame adversity.
With the exception of his early history paintings and a few portraits of men, his entire career was devoted to painting beautiful women.
Invented by the alchemist Paracelsus, these water nymphs became popular in the 19th century with prose poems and a novella. Here they are in paint, by Turner, Waterhouse, Gauguin, Schiele, and others.
