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Artist guide
Evelyn De Morgan Paintings
Symbolism · British · 1855 to 1919
Famous Paintings, Explained
The stories behind famous paintings, the painters who made them, and the movements that shaped them. Every work here can be recreated by hand in oil on canvas.
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Painting story
The Supper Party
Look closer at Honthorst’s Supper Party: the lute player, dark foreground diner, candlelight and the dental episode at the right of the Uffizi scene.
Painting story
Loke and Sigyn by Mårten Eskil Winge
Loki lies chained beneath a serpent while his wife Sigyn holds a bowl to catch its venom: Winge’s 1863 scene from Norse myth.
Painting story
Christ Before the High Priest by Gerard van Honthorst
A single candle lights the high priest’s accusing finger and Christ’s silent face: Honthorst’s candlelit trial, painted in Rome around 1617.
Painting story
The Prodigal Son by Eugène Burnand
A white-bearded father wraps his returning son in his cloak: Eugène Burnand’s quiet, moving picture of the prodigal son’s homecoming.
Painting story
The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection by Eugène Burnand
Peter and John run to the empty tomb at dawn, faces full of hope and fear: Eugène Burnand’s Easter painting of 1898.
Painting story
Thor's Fight with the Giants by Mårten Eskil Winge
Thor swings Mjölnir from his goat-drawn chariot as lightning flashes and giants fall: Winge’s 1872 vision of the Norse thunder god.
Artist guide
Gerard van Honthorst Paintings
Dutch Golden Age · Dutch · 1592 to 1656
Artist guide
Eugène Burnand Paintings
Realism · Swiss · 1850 to 1921
Artist guide
Mårten Eskil Winge Paintings
Romanticism · Swedish · 1825 to 1896
Painting story
Satan Watching the Sleep of Christ
Satan Watching the Sleep of Christ (1874) by Sir Joseph Noel Paton shows Christ asleep on the stones of the wilderness at dawn, after forty days…
Painting story
The Fairy Raid
Discover Paton’s Fairy Raid: the abducted child, Fairy Queen, armoured riders, foreground children and unsettling creatures in the 1867 painting.
Painting story
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel by Alexandre-Louis Leloir
Jacob grapples with a winged angel through the night, a red cloak flying: Leloir’s dramatic Genesis scene, painted when he was twenty-two.
Painting story
The Reconciliation of Oberon and Titania
Explore Paton’s Reconciliation of Oberon and Titania: Shakespeare’s fairy rulers, sleeping lovers and the crowded woodland of his 1847 painting.
Artist guide
Sir Joseph Noel Paton Paintings
Pre-Raphaelite · Scottish · 1821 to 1901
Artist guide
Alexandre-Louis Leloir Paintings
Academicism · French · 1843 to 1884
Painting story
The Cushion (Der Polster)
Explore Max Kurzweil’s The Cushion: a hidden face, spread hand, floral patterns and the colour woodcut technique behind the 1903 print.
Painting story
A Dear Visitor by Max Kurzweil
A wounded soldier reaches out to his horse, led into the room to see him: Max Kurzweil’s A Dear Visitor, in the Belvedere, Vienna.
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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.
