François Boucher, Pygmalion and Galatea, 1767, The Hermitage, St Petersburg. The day before yesterday I was talking about a self portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola seeming to come alive (Picture Of The Day 77), and referred to the myth of Pygmalion – so what better than to explore that idea a little further today. The origins ofContinue reading “Day 79 – Pygmalion”
Category Archives: 18th Century
Day 65 – Venice
Canaletto, Venice: The Basin of San Marco on Ascension Day, about 1740, National Gallery, London. Yesterday was Ascension Day, and in Venice that always used to be one of the great days of the year. The celebration, known in the Venetian dialect as the Festa della Sensa, was associated with two historical events. On 9 May in the yearContinue reading “Day 65 – Venice”
Day 58 – Ottobeuren Abbey
Johann Michael Fischer, Ottobeuren Abbey, 1737-1766, Bavaria, Germany. Frescoes: J.J. and F.A. Zeiller; Stucco: J.M. Feichtmayr. Today’s picture is a building! Or rather, the decoration of a building. I’ve named Fischer as the architect, although, to be honest, so many people were involved that it is hard to know who did what – but Fischer isContinue reading “Day 58 – Ottobeuren Abbey”
Day 57 – Tobias revisited
Gian Antonio Guardi, The Story of Tobias, c. 1750, Arcangelo Raffaele, Venice. I’ve told you the story of Tobias and the Angel before (Picture Of The Day 4), so if you’d like to refresh your memory, do have a look there. At the time somebody mentioned the wonderful version of the story as told by a memberContinue reading “Day 57 – Tobias revisited”
Day 55 – A Straw Hat
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self Portrait in a Straw Hat, 1782, National Gallery, London. I’m no milliner, but I know a straw hat when I see one. And Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun is wearing one here. This is a defiantly confident self portrait. Doubly confident, in fact, because it is a copy she madeContinue reading “Day 55 – A Straw Hat”
Day 51 – The True Cross
Giambattista Tiepolo, The Discovery of the True Cross, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice. Just over a week ago I talked about Verrocchio’s lively bozzetto, or Model, for the Funeral Monument for Cardinal Niccolò Forteguerri (Picture Of The Day 42), and I mentioned that a bozzetto could be any type of sketch (or model) that an artist creates as part of the development of a newContinue reading “Day 51 – The True Cross”
Day 48 – Colour and Design
Angelica Kauffman, Colour and Design, 1778-80, Royal Academy, London. We’re back with the rainbow, again, after yesterday – but seen from a different point of view today. It is now a week since the Royal Academy officially announced that they would be cancelling their exhibition of the works of Angelica Kauffman, which, of all the shows that haveContinue reading “Day 48 – Colour and Design”
Day 43 – Psyche
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Psyche showing her Sisters her Gifts from Cupid, 1753, National Gallery, London. I thought I’d have some presents today… for various reasons. Did you know it is the 75th anniversary of the death of Adolf Hitler? Or that it is the 137th anniversary of the death of Edouard Manet? Neither of these are the reason, obviously. ButContinue reading “Day 43 – Psyche”
Day 26 – ‘La Tasse de Chocolat’
Day 26 – Nicolas Lancret, ‘La Tasse de Chocolat’, probably 1742, National Gallery, London. It’s Easter Monday, which is not a religious festival (unless you’re Orthodox, in which case Easter isn’t until next Sunday anyway), but a chance for the banks to have a holiday because they wouldn’t have been open yesterday anyway, so couldn’t haveContinue reading “Day 26 – ‘La Tasse de Chocolat’”
Day 14 – Self-portrait of the Artist hesitating between the Arts of Music and Painting
Day 14 – Angelica Kauffman, Self-portrait of the Artist hesitating between the Arts of Music and Painting, 1794, Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire. Originally posted on 1 April 2020 Two weeks of #pictureoftheday already! Thank you so much for all your ‘likes’, comments, queries, requests, and ‘shares’ – yes! Especially for the ‘shares’, keep on doing that, I’dContinue reading “Day 14 – Self-portrait of the Artist hesitating between the Arts of Music and Painting”
dr richard stemp 