Two paintings of the martyrdom by stoning of Saint Stephen, one by Rembrandt, together with Gustave DorĂ©’s fine engravings take us further up the mountain of Purgatory.
Rembrandt
Until 1880, varnishing oil paintings was standard practice, but three completely different types of varnish were used. A journey through names like sandarac and colophony.
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.
Rembrandt’s Jewish Bride; GĂ©rĂ´me’s Carpet Merchant; Sargent’s Arab Woman; CĂ©zanne’s Forest Scene. Each at different levels of detail.
Mephistopheles (the devil) makes a bet with the Lord that he can lead his faithful servant Faust astray. Faust has grown weary of scholarship, and is looking for something better.
A whirlwind trip through the history of compositional chiaroscuro, from the Renaissance, through Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi, to Rembrandt.
Great paintings by Rubens, David, Rembrandt, Merson, Sciuti and Tiepolo telling some of the best stories from Plutarch’s ‘Lives’.
Rembrandt’s masterpiece looking deep into Bathsheba’s predicament, but it was von Stuck who first suggested that she may have been a willing participant.
Paintings by Rubens, Rembrandt, Jordaens, Chassériau, von Stuck and Lovis Corinth give slightly different accounts of this story.
He developed innovative guerrilla warfare in the long Punic Wars against Hannibal. Also the mystery of a stolen Rembrandt.
