Every lightning bolt tells a story, with paintings by Rubens, Richard Wilson, Poussin, John Martin, Adam Elsheimer, William Blake, and more.
Wilson
The best orator of Rome, and a great poet and writer. He became caught up in the struggle between Caesar and Pompey, and eventually fell foul of Antony. Great paintings too.
From very humble beginnings in the British colonies in America, he rose to become a leading history painter, friend and painter to the King, and President of the Royal Academy. How?
Although few of his finished paintings survive, he was a major influence on John Constable and others, and some of his techniques were not exploited until the 20th century.
Niobe had seven sons and seven daughters, which must have made her better than Latona, who only had 2 children. Snag was, there were Apollo and Diana.
A shocking story of the abduction of a young girl by the king of the underworld, but told with sensitivity. And accompanied by some outstanding paintings.
It is hard to be sure when oil painting outdoors first started, but the oldest such paintings date from before 1700.
From the early years of landscape painting as a genre in its own right, artists have used it to depict the awe-inspiring but fascinating horrors of the sublime.
