La fornarina was a skillful depiction by high-renaissance artist Raphael. It resembles with Leonardo’s Mona Lisa in terms of the posture, use of the model and the alleged idea behind the portrait. It also includes some elements of popular painting style Chiaroscuro which Raphael borrowed from Caravaggio. La Fornarina, Raphael’s Mistress It is said that the model seated for the portrait was Raphael’s real life model called Margarita Luti. The title of the painting means “the baker’s daughter”. According to Giorgio Vasari, the renaissance period art historian, Raphael was “a very amorous man’ and often looking for ‘amorous pleasures’. Allegedly, during his life he had many mistresses one after another, including daughters of his patrons. Margarita Luti appeared in Raphael’s another portrait La Velata as […]
Peter Paul Rubens, the 17th century Flemish Baroque painter painted the first version of the biblical subject Massacre of the Innocents in 1612. It took him two years to finish the painting. It showcases the intense scene of King Herod’s (Herod the Great) soldiers killing the infants of Bethlehem during his reign. Massacre of the Innocents The subject of the painting is the intense massacre of the infants during the time of Herod the Great who after a prophecy, got furious that a Jew boy (Jesus) would uproot his grand reign. After getting outwitted by the Magi, and not knowing which baby would be the reason of his diminishing reign, in fury, he ordered to kill all the infants under age of two. It was […]
Leonardo executed very few works during his lifetime compared to other renaissance artists. A major reason is that, he was involved in way too much other works associated with science of human anatomy, botany, physics, armory, architecture and many others. But, on the other hand, his deep research and observation in each field helped him between his various fields at some points. The field of painting includes almost everything the nature has to offer and Leonardo just observed everything from fossils, mountains to the moon. Deriving information and hidden facts (for his time) from sources, mostly his every painting came out as a masterpiece from the artistic view point. His every new composition, color, style and new techniques were followed by the Leonardeschi. Sfumato After […]
Today, books and painters have closer relations than before. But, in the times of middle age when no one knew what’s the position of earth in the universe, people used to have books made with gold and jewel or the books listing mythological beasts and also believing those beasts to be real. There also happened to be the world’s first art-history book written in 16th century. Read further, to see how artists used their art beyond the regular oil and canvas. 1. Bestiary Bestiary is a compliment of the different animals and beasts with detailed description as well as with a fine illustration of the beast with some moral message at the end. It could have totally imaginary animals from myths, folklore and fairy-tales (Unicorn, […]
Whistler’s mother is an oil-on-canvas painting by American-born painter James McNeil Whistler revealed in 1871. The real name of the painting is Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, but in general, it is more famous as Whistler’s Mother. It is now reckoned as one of the most famous paintings in the world and has been described as an American Icon and “Victorian Mona Lisa”. It is a painting depicting artist’s mother, Anna McNeil Whistler. She is sitting on a chair with ease- her left side towards us- and looking straight. The emotions on the face of quite, cold and the natural discerning peace are portrayed vividly. As if, she is living her most quiet and peaceful years. After the revelation, the painting got much […]
Lady with an Ermine is one of the four ladies painted by Leonardo, other three being Mona Lisa, La belle ferronnière and Ginevra de’ Benci. The Lady with an Ermine has segments of Pentimento as by radiography. A window has been detected on the upper right side, which was deleted later on by the artist. The painting consist some work called “Moti Mentali” meaning mental emotions. The term was mostly referred to Leonardo’s work and means the artist’s ability to depict the real mental thoughts, emotions and disposition of the subject on his/her face. That’s the painting has been described as “signaling a breakthrough in the art of psychological portraiture.” Another noticeable element is artist’s little use of his well-known style of Sfumato around the subject’s […]
The Scream bought three things into limelight: Edvard Munch, the painter of the artwork; importance of impressionism and the town of Oslo where the artist got his inspiration to depict such a radical subject achieved never before so firmly. The gloomy nature of the artist himself is reflected explicitly in the painting. In his personal life, Edvard Munch was much of a depressed person who also got an inevitable treatment for his mental illness for eight months in a hospital. After that, his mental condition and gloomy thoughts changed to a great degree and his paintings became more optimistic with positive colors and subjects. Though, this painting was painted when he was fighting with his depression. On a little walk near a lake with his […]
Pablo Picasso’s second most expensive painting of all the time. The boy sitting in blue clothes with red-brownish background and flower paints on the wall is having a smoking pipe in his hand and a garland on his head. Picasso was around 24 years old when he painted this art-piece. Moreover, the painting belongs to his Rose Period. Apparently, it was the time, when Picasso was painting the natural figure before he jumped into the Cubism Movement, which gave us the Guernica. The latest price of the panting in May, 2004 was around $104 million ($129 million with adjusted price inflation), which was highest price for a painted sold at an auction. The recent trend to buy a painting at big price tag just because the […]
The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette by Pierre Auguste Renoir is a depiction of a small French Town’s outskirt area with a lively beer-garden. People are dancing, drinking and having sensuous flirting activities to have a joyous time. The sunlight sieved through tree-branches is giving the environment a balanced and pleasant air. The whole place seems to be filled with music, dance-steps, laughs and gossips. The painting currently ranks at number six on the list of the most expensive paintings with the price tag of $78.1 in 1990, which translates into staggering $141.5 million if we adjust the figure with the price inflation. Moulin de la Galette is a windmill in the district of Montmartre, Paris. This is the same place where Vincent […]
Made in 1969, the three studies of Lucian Freud were made by Francis Bacon and is the most expensive painting of all time sold at an auction by November 2013. The price tag without adjusting the inflation is around $142.4 million. Francis Bacon was a figurative painter and painted many of his paintings in such triptych style. According to his statement he always saw images in series. And thus, he painted those series in triptych styles. The current one has become his most famous painting after the auction. It depicts his friend Lucian Freud sitting in three different positions in an imaginary background and a linear box. The figure seems to be deformed or distorted and the face of the person has gone to the […]






















