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Painting story
The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer
A kitchen maid pours milk in Vermeer’s quiet masterpiece of about 1660: sparkling bread, an ultramarine apron and a bare, light-filled wall.
Painting Stories
The meaning and history of famous paintings: what they show, where the originals hang, and how each one is recreated by hand in oil on canvas.
Painting Analysis articles
Painting story
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter
Explore Vermeer’s Woman in Blue Reading a Letter: the unreadable message, two hands, lapis-lazuli blue and map in the Rijksmuseum painting.
Painting story
Aristotle with a Bust of Homer by Rembrandt van Rijn
Aristotle rests his hand on a bust of Homer, a gold chain across his chest: Rembrandt’s meditation on fame and wisdom, painted in 1653.
Painting story
The Jewish Bride by Rembrandt van Rijn
A couple joined by a tender gesture of the hands, painted in thick gold and red: Rembrandt’s late masterpiece that Van Gogh adored.
Painting story
Portrait of Jan Six by Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt’s 1654 portrait of his friend Jan Six, painted with astonishingly free brushwork, still owned by the Six family in Amsterdam.
Painting story
Self-Portrait with Two Circles by Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt at about sixty, palette in hand, in front of two mysterious circles: one of his greatest late self-portraits, free to see at Kenwood.
Painting story
Belshazzar's Feast by Rembrandt van Rijn
A glowing hand writes on the wall as King Belshazzar turns in terror: Rembrandt’s dramatic feast in the National Gallery.
Painting story
The Anatomy Lesson
Dr Tulp demonstrates the muscles of a dead man’s arm to seven surgeons: the group portrait that made the young Rembrandt famous.
Painting story
Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar by Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt at fifty-three, after bankruptcy, looks out from under a dark beret with honest, tired eyes. Painted in 1659.
Painting story
The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt van Rijn
A nearly blind father lays his hands on his kneeling, ragged son: Rembrandt’s late masterpiece of forgiveness, in the Hermitage.
Painting story
The Syndics of the Drapers Guild by Rembrandt van Rijn
Five officials of the cloth-makers’ guild look up from their book as if we had just walked in: Rembrandt’s De Staalmeesters of 1662.
Painting story
Madonna by Edvard Munch
A woman with long black hair leans back, eyes half closed, with a red band instead of a halo: Munch’s unsettling Madonna of 1894 to 1895.
Painting story
Portrait of Margareta van Eyck by Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck’s wife at thirty-three, looking straight at us in a frilled headdress and red gown, dated 17 June 1439 on the frame.
Painting story
The Lucca Madonna by Jan van Eyck
Mary nurses the Christ child on a lion-throne in a small room with a carafe, an orange and an oriental carpet: Van Eyck’s Lucca Madonna.
Painting story
Portrait of Baudouin de Lannoy by Jan van Eyck
A stern Burgundian courtier in a fur hat, wearing the gold collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, painted by Van Eyck around 1435.
Painting story
The Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele by Jan van Eyck
An elderly canon kneels before the Virgin, painted with merciless detail, between Saint Donatian and Saint George in shining armour.
Painting story
Portrait of a Man with Carnation by Jan van Eyck
An old man in a fur hat holds a carnation and wears the cross and bell of the Order of Saint Anthony: a tiny portrait in Van Eyck’s manner.
Painting story
Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban by Jan van Eyck
A man in a red headdress looks straight out, signed and dated 21 October 1433 with the motto As I Can: probably Van Eyck himself.
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Curated collectionsOdyssey, Magic and Witchcraft, Famous Women, Landscapes and more.Artists A to ZEvery painter in the catalogue, with an archive of their works.Art movementsRenaissance to Expressionism: what defines each and who led it.Top 100 most famous paintingsThe ranked list, with the story behind every entry.
