Did Rembrandt Paint Oopjen's Lace?IntroductionLace is one of the most beautiful, complex, refined, and expensive items depicted in many early seventeenth-century Dutch portraits. And yet it is often a little overlooked by art [Read More...]
Art History Articles
What you Wear is Who you Are Dress in 16th and 17th century portraiture was loaded with meaning. Elizabeth I’ portraits, which functioned as one of the most important means of propaganda for [Read More...]
Nicholas Hilliard (1546/7 - 1618) was a famous Tudor artist, working for the royal court of Elizabeth I and, after her death, the court of James IV. He is particularly well known for [Read More...]
Despite its title, Vincenzo Cartari’s (1502? -1570s?) Images of the Gods (Le imagini degli dei delli antichi, Venice, 1556) was initially published without illustrations. But that did not stop this wonderful book from becoming one of [Read More...]
The Anne Boleyn Canopy is a large lace cover held at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire. It is made up from various square lace pieces, sewn together to make one large cover. It has [Read More...]
Museum websites are completely missing a trick. That's what I concluded after an afternoon of museum website browsing. I am writing this article during the Corona lock-down and wanting to experience the art [Read More...]
Jean Ettienne LiotardPortrait of Louise Jacquet (opera singer)Pastel, 59.8 x 45 cms, 23 1/2 x 17 3/4 in1748-52Private collection. Photo © Sotheby’s/Art Digital StudioThis lively and confronting portrait is by Swiss master pastel [Read More...]
Flower painting has been a strong favourite for artists and art lovers for centuries but they really became a subject in itself in the early 17th century. Dutch and Flemish artists took the [Read More...]
Albrecht DurerThe Large Piece of Turf1503Watercolour on Paper, 40.8 cm (16 ″); Width: 31.5 cm (12.4 ″)Albertina Museum in ViennaThis highly detailed small work was painted in watercolour in 1503 by Albrecht Durer [Read More...]
Until 6 May 2019 there are no less than 12 exhibitions of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings simultaneously all over the UK. The Royal Collection has a fantastic collection of drawings by Leonardo and [Read More...]
Black is one of the most difficult colours to get right in painting. Many artists prefer to use Ivory Black, others swear by Mars Black. For some the deepest black is conveyed by [Read More...]
I’d like to continue with the article I started last week. It was written in 1718 by an anonymous author and dealt with the characteristics of painting and poetry. These two art forms [Read More...]
The piece of writing below was sent to The Free-Thinker, an early 18th century journal (or magazine), by an anonymous author in 1718. The author wanted to share a few thoughts on the [Read More...]
The work of William Larkin (early 1580s – 1619) stands out from the crowd. Not only because some of his works are huge, but also because of the fantastic depiction of fabrics. His [Read More...]
Larkin’s Portrait of Diana CecilThe huge portrait of Diana Cecil (1596 - 1654) (it is over 2 meters tall) is one of 9 that are attributed to William Larkin (1580s-1619) and that belong to [Read More...]
In the 17th century the Brits were mad about the Dutch. In this eventful century (to put it mildly) there were no less than 3 wars between The Netherlands and Great Britain. At [Read More...]
Robert Peake the Elder (c. 1551–1619) was a fascinating painter who worked during the transition of Tudor (Elizabeth I) and Jacobean (James I) reigns. He was born in Lincolnshire in or around 1551 [Read More...]
Click to enlargeBartholomeus van der Helst, Portrait of Abraham del Court and His Wife Maria de Kaersgieter, oil on canvas, 172cm x 146,5cm, 1654. Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, RotterdamBartholomeus van der HelstPortrait of [Read More...]