|
|
|
|
Susanna Fourment
("Le Chapeau de Paille")
Peter Paul Rubens, c 1622-1625
Oil on panel, 31" x 21 1/2"
The National Gallery, London.
Since the 18th century, this striking portrait has been mistitled "Le Chapeau de Paille" (The Straw Hat). The sitter was sister-in-law to Rubens' first wife and the prominent ring on her right finger (similar to the Huneysuckle Bower portrait) may indicate her recent marriage to Arnold Lunden. Most outstanding in this work is the radiant glow of the subject's skin, achieved my Rubens' masterful application of numerous translucent glazes. Susanna's rosy complexion echoes the crimson of her silk sleeves. Her demure charm and Rubens' unsurpassed painting of glowing flesh make this an enduringly popular portrait.
[ Detail ]
|
Mademoiselle Romaine Lacaux
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1864
Oil on canvas, 32" x 25 1/2"
Cleveland Museum of Art.
This work is Renoir's earliest signed and dated portrait. At age 23 the artist was still developing his own style, but here, even with a mostly monochrome presentation, Renoir displays the distinctive warmth and charm that was to characterize so many of his later works. The pattern of shapes and curves of the dress and sleeves (also echoed in the drapery) adds a strong, unified design to the traditional pyramid format.
[ Detail ]
|
The Linley Sisters
(Mrs. Sheridan and Mrs. Tickel)
Thomas Gainsborough, c 1772
Oil on canvas, 78" x 60 1/4"
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London.
Elizabeth Sheridan (with the guitar) and Mary Tickel (holding sheet music) were talented singers at the height of their fame. Gainsborough portrays them, not as glamorous performers, but as sensitive women at home with nature. In this wooded setting the sisters are at one with their environment. The colors and texture of the landscape are echoed in the rendering of their garments; and with long, loose brushstrokes throughout the painting, Gainsborough has created a work of outstanding unity and natural harmony. [ Detail ]
|
Margaret, Countess of Blessington
Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1822
Oil on canvas, 25 3/4" x 36 1/2"
The Wallace Collection, London.
Sir Thomas Lawrence continued the tradition of aristocratic portraits established by Van Dyck, portraying his subjects in an informal but elegant style. This work and the well-known portrait of Sarah Barrett Moulton (Pinkie) in the Huntington Art Gallery, California, are examples of Lawrence's bravura brushwork that was to influence other artists such as Eugène Delacroix. Lady Blessington was famed for her looks and accomplishments. This portait is considered to be one of Lawrence's finest characterizations. [ Detail ]
|
Donna Velata, Raphael, c 1513
Oil on canvas, 33 1/2" x 25 1/4"
Pitti Palace, Florence.
Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael) was the consummate Renaissance artist, applying his superlative skill to a wide variety of works, including madonnas, frescoes, portraits, religious, and history paintings. Raphael's genius was in his versatility—he mastered all aspects of painting. His works are composed with perfect balance and harmony, and painted with a beauty of line and color. This splendid portrait of the 'Lady of the Veil' is an example of High Renaissance portraiture at its finest. [ Detail ]
|
Benedetto di Tommaso Portinari,
Maria Maddalena Baroncelli
(Mrs. Tommaso Portinari)
Hans Memling, 1470
Oil on panel, 17 3/8" x 13 3/8"
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
These two portraits were originally the left and right panels of a devotional tryptich. The work was commissioned shortly after the marriage of Benedetto di Tommaso Portinari and Maria Maddalena Baroncelli, when Maria was 14 years of age. The harmonious balance and quiet serenity of these paintings are typical of Hans Memling's religious works and portraits. The influence of Flemish masters Jan Van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden is apparent in Memling's masterful handling of paint and careful attention to detail. [ Detail ]
|
The Binning Children
Sir Henry Raeburn, c 1811
Oil on canvas, 50 3/4" x 40 3/8"
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
As Scotland's foremost painter, Sir Henry Raeburn was a prolific portraitist. Although a contemporary of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Raeburn did not follow the traditional method of British portraiture. He developed an original technique that anticipated contemporary painting. Working only from direct observation, Raeburn used swift and sure brush strokes that resulted in paintings of great freshness and spontaneity.
In this double portrait, Raeburn places the Binning children in a diagonal composition, emphasizing each subject's head by means of the white collar. The smooth modeling of the boys' flesh contrasts Raeburn's more characteristic free brushwork as seen in the background trees and sky.
|
Girl in a Blue Dress, Jan Verspronck, 1641
Oil on canvas, 32" x 26"
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Dutch artist Johannes Cornelisz Verspronck may have worked in the Haarlem studio of Frans Hals. Although his portraits reveal Hals' influence, Verspronck developed his own personal style using elaborate modelling and a more detailed technique.
The young subject is about 10 years old and dressed like her mother, holding an ostrich-feather fan. Her family's wealth is indicated by the jewels and by the gold braid and lace trimmings of her dress. Verspronck shows his skill in accurately rendering these details. This charming portrait is one of Verspronck's most outstanding works and is one of the most popular child paintings of the Dutch Golden Age. [ Detail ]
|
Colonel George K. H. Coussmaker, Grenadier Guards, Joshua Reynolds, 1782
Oil on canvas, 93 3/4" x 57 1/4"
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
As painter to the king and first President of the Royal Academy, Joshua Reynolds was the most distinguished artist of 18th-century Britain. He displayed formidable talent and versatility as a portraitist, producing over 2000 works. His paintings, styled in the Grand Manner, are distinguished by their classical dignity, chromatic richness and realistic characterization. This work was painted after Reynolds had visited Flanders and Holland and reveals the influence of Rubens in the free handling of paint. The long curves of the Colonel's casual pose are echoed and balanced by the sweeping curves of the sword, tree, and horse's neck. [ Detail ]
|
Pope Innocent X, Diego Velazquez, 1650
Oil on canvas, 55" x 47 1/2"
Galleria Doria Pamphili, Rome.
As the greatest of all Spanish painters, Velazquez was a gifted portraitist with an eye for truth. He enjoyed a successful career in the royal court and on his second trip to Rome produced this remarkable work. The painting is universally regarded as one of the supreme masterpieces of portraiture. Velazquez applied the paint with extraordinary assurance while rendering character with keen insight. For this great achievement, the pope awarded Velazquez a gold medal, even though the pope himself describe the portrait as 'troppo vero' (too truthful). [ Detail ]
|
The Merry Drinker, Frans Hals, 1582-83
Oil on canvas, 32" x 26"
The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Frans Hals was one of the great seventeenth-century Dutch painters. With a limited pallette, Hals gives this portrait a sparkling vitality. Almost all detail is eliminated in favor of a broad, brisk treatment. Hals' signature brushwork is evident in the bold strokes of the garments and in the fluid painting of the beard and the raised hand. The subject's face is masterfully rendered as a three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood portrait. [ Detail ]
|
Portrait of a Man
Antonella da Messina, 1475
Oil on panel, 14" x 10"
The National Gallery, London.
Sicilian painter Antonella da Messina was one of the first Italian artists to apply Van Eyck's oil technique. Da Messina's work combined Flemish and Italian styles, and strongly influenced Venetian artists such as Bellini. This small work reveals da Messina's great skill as a portrait painter. His fluid technique and meticulous attention to detail show his mastery of oil paint. [ Detail ]
|
More archived portraits >>
|
|
|
|
|
