Gates opened in time of war, entered by Christ in triumph, those of hell in Dante and Milton, separating lovers, and marking the start of an elopement.
painting
Now known as one of the leading illustrators of children’s books, he was also an accomplished and recognised painter. Here are some narratives from his early career.
Early explorations in the landscapes of Aelbert Cuyp, tortoises from Brazil, the first dedicated animal painter in Paulus Potter, and a concert of birds by Melchior d’Hondecoeter.
Ancient paint made using glue as a binder loses chromatic intensity as it dries, fades readily over time, and forms a fragile paint layer. But it has been popular at times.
First Dante and Virgil have to negotiate the three-headed monster dog Cerberus, guarding Hell, then the stinking mud containing gluttons.
The harvest painted by Anna Ancher, Lhermitte, Adrian Stokes, Nikolai Astrup, John Linnell, Félix Vallotton, PS Krøyer, Gérôme, and others.
Cutting the grain crop, in paintings by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Samuel Palmer, John Linnell, Jean-François Millet, Volodymyr Orlovsky, Mykola Pymonenko and others.
Every painter should have a suit of armour hanging in their studio, and those of German Romantics, Pre-Raphaelites and others, of Don Quixote.
Worn by Mars, Athena/Minerva and Bellona, it also featured in the war against Troy. It was worn by Joan of Arc, and by Lovis Corinth too.
Although not entirely new, from 1620 still life paintings were highly popular, thanks to skilled painters migrating from Flanders and Brabant to escape religious oppression.
The Eclectic Light Company 