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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.
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 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
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
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
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 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
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
The Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck
The Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, completed in 1432: the Mystic Lamb, singing angels, Adam and Eve, and a history of thefts.
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.
Painting story
Saint Jerome in His Study by Jan van Eyck
Saint Jerome reads in a study crowded with books, an astrolabe and an hourglass, his lion asleep under the table: a tiny Van Eyck panel in Detroit.
Painting story
The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck
A merchant and his wife in their room in Bruges, a convex mirror, a dog and a signature that reads like a witness’s note: Van Eyck, 1434.
Artist guide
Jan van Eyck Paintings
Northern Renaissance · Dutch · c. 1390 to 1441
Painting story
The Crucifixion of Saint Peter by Michelangelo Buonarroti
Michelangelo’s late fresco in the Pauline Chapel: Saint Peter, crucified upside down, turns to stare at the viewer as soldiers raise the cross.
Painting story
The Conversion of Saint Paul by Michelangelo Buonarroti
Christ plunges from heaven as an old Saul falls blinded and his soldiers scatter: Michelangelo’s late fresco in the Pauline Chapel.
Painting story
The Fall and Expulsion from Eden by Michelangelo
Michelangelo combines temptation and expulsion in one Sistine Chapel fresco, showing Adam and Eve before and after the choice that transforms…
Painting story
The Doni Tondo by Michelangelo Buonarroti
Mary twists to take the Christ child from Joseph, with nude youths behind: Michelangelo’s only undisputed panel painting.
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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.
