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.
narrative
The meaning of one arm raised depends on the position of the fingers: is it an index finger pointing to heaven, or a sign of benediction?
Trained at the Royal Academy Schools only ten years after they had opened, he has become one of the most important and original British visual artists.
An intricate tragicomedy culminating in a complex series of revelations. Although never popular, some interesting paintings.
Why is the Virgin Mary standing on a snake with a part-eaten apple in its mouth? And which painting of her was banned from display in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome?
Snakes and serpents in myth, legend and religion are thoroughly sinister and bad, with one curious exception. A journey across centuries of images.
For 20 years, Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery tried to establish an English School of History Painting. Or was it just a ploy to make money from prints?
Thought to be his first play, it hasn’t been painted much, but those who have are notable, including William Holman Hunt’s masterpiece.
How West failed in his aim of bringing a revolution to history painting by depicting ‘modern history’, and was repeatedly upstaged by others.
Although not popular on stage, a classical tragedy that attracted paintings by Waterhouse, Delacroix and others.
The Eclectic Light Company 