Developed in the mid 1600s, pastels are often considered to be the ‘purest’ form of painting, in which pure pigment is applied to the ground.
painting
From barrators, being hacked at by a pack of devils in their boiling tar, through hypocrites wearing habits weighted with lead, to thieves being tormented by snakes. Sheer hell.
From being staffage in landscapes, shepherds and their flocks became motifs in their own right, with the social realist of Millet, even Henri Regnault.
Shepherds and shepherdesses painted in stories, from classical myth, through the Bible and Christ’s nativity, to epic poetry, including Milton’s Paradise Lost.
Three exceptional paintings are dominated by geometrical forms. In one, a huge golden cylinder hangs in the night sky. Was this an innovative abstract painting?
One of the paintings he made in 1888 is quite unlike any other that he made in his career: The Talisman, which became an icon for the Nabis. Is it abstract?
Two final paintings, his striking portrait of Saint John the Baptist, and the highly controversial ‘Salvator Mundi’, the most expensive painting in the world.
Since the decline of egg tempera and fresco in the Renaissance, oil paints have predominated. They rely on drying oils as their binder, which give them longevity and versatility.
A Bolognese man who pimped his sister, Jason of Golden Fleece fame, a couple of popes, and assorted astrologers – all suffering for their sins.
Life behind the scenes of a circus was less than idyllic. Owners often cared little for performers, and animals were treated cruelly. Painted insights from Degas, Renoir, and others.
The Eclectic Light Company 