Is that the god Cupid, a Cupid, a putto, an amorino, or a cherub? The differences explained and illustrated in paintings by Botticelli, Titian, Raphael and others.
Raphael
Leonardo da Vinci studied different types of shade and shadow, but recommended painters not to depict cast shadows in their paintings. This explains why.
Key factors making oil paint most suitable include its slow drying, wide range of viscosity, and robust paint layer. But it has its rules too.
The hard road to realism: development and propagation of knowledge, how to apply it in paintings, and its benefit on visual art.
Tragic stories of great paintings that no longer look anything like their originals, from Leonardo da Vinci and William Blake.
From the Renaissance, by convention dreams were shown as a dream view set within a framing real view. Examples by Raphael, Tintoretto and others.
The popular story of the Judgement of Solomon is a great challenge for visual art. Here are some of the better attempts at solution, from Raphael to Blake.
Full contents for this series, with lists of artists considered in each of its articles, and links to the articles.
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.
Well known from language, the scarlet woman should be easy to read in paintings. But all that is scarlet isn’t who you’d expect.
The Eclectic Light Company 