"Marchesa Brigida Spinola Doria", 1606 - By Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640)

"Marchesa Brigida Spinola Doria", 1606 - By Artist Peter Paul Rubens 

This is a wonderful portrait by Rubens of Brigida Spinola, a young (she was just 22 years old at the time of painting) Genoese from an aristocratic family. Her husband, Giacomo Massimiliano Doria, gave her this artwork as a wedding gift. It began as a full-length portrait with a view of the countryside. However, in the nineteenth century, the painting was severely cropped on the left, and the whole vista from the terrace vanished. Brigida is dressed in a silver satin and lace gown. Her look makes it clear that she is affluent and of position. The angle of her gaze and the perspective of the structures suggest that the picture was hung high—much higher than the spectator. This relatively huge (99 x 152.5 cm) artwork is now on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

"Marchesa Brigida Spinola Doria", 1606 - By Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640) 

"Young woman with a jug of water (1660-1662)" By The Dutch Artist Johannes Vermeer (Jan Vermeer)

 

Young woman with a jug of water (1660-1662)

Young Woman with a Jug of Water is a Baroque oil painting on canvas between 1660 and 1662 by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (Jan Vermeer). The dimensions of the painting are 45.7x40.6 cm. It is currently located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

This Painting is one of those that was painted in the early and mid-1660s, where the artist moved away from emphasis to axonometry and geometric order. He moved to simpler forms, using only one figure and emphasizing the use of light. The artist often depicted women doing some household chores, and in the same surroundings: a white wall, a map on it, a window, a table covered with a carpet. At the same time, the characters perform such simple actions as in the presented picture: a woman opens a window, holding a jug with her other hand. Scattered daylight pouring into the room softens facial features and contours of objects, fills with depth of paint.

As Van Gogh wrote, "... above everything is a marvelously blue sky and the sun, which streams the radiance of a light greenish-yellow color; it is soft and charming, like a combination of sky blue and yellow in a painting by Vermeer of Delft." Vermeer was attentive to detail: the jug reflects the blue drapery, and the surface of the basin is a carpet. The Czech writer Karel Capek spoke about the master’s paintings he saw: “... no one else could notice this clear, transparent light of Holland, as if washed with dew, this silence, bright dignity and intimate sanctity of the hearth, where it smells of iron, soap and femininity ".

The painting was purchased by the American collector Henry Gurdon Marquand in 1887 from the Paris Gallery for only $800, becoming the first of Jan Vermeer's works to be shown in US art collections. Marquand donated this masterpiece, along with others from his collection, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

"The Burgomaster of Delft and his daughter", 1655 - by artist Jan Steen 🇳🇱 ( c. 1626 - 1679)

"The Burgomaster of Delft and his daughter", 1655

This is a famous painting by Jan Steen (1626-1679) from the period when he lived in Delft.

 For a long time this picture was called "The Burgomaster of Delft and his daughter", but after careful research, the names of the seated man and girl were found.

 It is currently assumed that the man seated is the wealthy grain merchant Adolf Kroeser and the girl is his daughter Katharina.

 Both of them are standing in front of their house, while a woman with a child is begging.

 This theme will be repeated by the artist a few years later, when Steen finds himself in serious debt, due to the losses of his De Roskam brewery, and Adolf Kroeser comes to his aid.

 The scene of the picture takes place next to the same brewery, and behind we see the old Delft church.

 A portrait of Adolf and Katharina Kreser can be seen at the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands.  The year of its writing is 1655.

"The Burgomaster of Delft and his daughter", 1655 - by artist Jan Steen

" Susanna and the Elders " , Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654) | ArtLiveAndBeauty

" Susanna and the Elders " , Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654)

Artemisia Gentileschi's first extant work, Artemisia Lomi (1593-1653). The painting, created by a 17-year-old Italian artist, depicts the biblical narrative found in Daniel 13:13. Artemisia absorbed Caravaggio's realism and effects in this piece, while also paying attention to Annibale Carracci's classicism and the Bologna school of the Baroque style.

Daniel's book narrates the narrative of Susanna and the elders. Susanna is having a bath in the garden one day when her servant lets in the two seniors. They sought sexual favors from Suzanne and threatened to ruin her reputation if she did not comply. She did reject, and the Elders carried out their warning. Daniel noted that the elders' claims did not match, so they were interviewed independently and their tale was revealed to be a fabrication.

The Landing of the Queen of Sheba by Artist Claude Lorrain | ArtLiveAndBeauty

 

The Landing of the Queen of Sheba by Artist Claude Lorrain

The painting by Claude Lorrain (née Claude Guellet, traditionally known as Claude) was commissioned by the Duc de Bouillon. It depicts the departure of the Queen of Sheba to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon. The bright morning sun illuminates the city with classical buildings and the seaport where ships are loaded.

 The queen is dressed in a pink tunic, a royal blue cloak and a golden crown. She is about to board a waiting boat that will take her to a ship—perhaps the ship partially hidden by the pillars to the left, or the one further out to sea, above the vanishing point of the image.

 The painting was acquired by the National Gallery in 1824 from the collection of John Julius Angerstein.

The Landing of the Queen of Sheba by Claude Lorrain - 1648 Oil on canvas. Size: 149 x 196 cm. National Gallery, London 

" Lady's Toilet " - Circa 1660, Gerard Terborch ( 1617 - 1681 ) | ArtLiveAndBeauty

 

" Lady's Toilet " , by Artist Gerard Terborch ( 1617 - 1681 )

The second name is “Woman at the toilet”, the main character of the picture is an aloof-cold lady in a blue shower jacket and wrinkled silk dress, alabaster of open shoulders and unnaturally raised breasts. An ugly straight line of the chest and abdomen. A tall awkward figure, ugly and shapeless. Thin tows over the forehead. Purple shoulder line. Red hands and white elbows. There are paints and blush on the face, but it is difficult to say something in condemnation of the face. Compares the cold white lines of the cabinet columns and candles with the cold blue line of the lady's chest. The silk skirt bulges ugly. The ugliness of the lady is most expressive of all in the mirror: the drooping lower lip of the half-open stupid mouth, blind eyes with hanging eyelids, a terrible long nose, miserable strands of hair, a wide neck.

The lady is opposed by a boy, a maid and a slender dog. All three are in natural motion. There are warm elements in the clothes: the boy has reddish hair, red on the hips, on the knee pom-poms, bows on the shoes; the maid has warm colors on her dress, hands and face. And the face itself is of pleasant, natural proportions and naturally lit. Next to her, the lady seems like a long doll, which she dresses up. The boy, on the contrary, is very slender: a loose top and wide sleeves, close-fitting pelvic clothing, tight pants. He has thick hair and a pleasant face profile: looking up, a beautiful line of nose - lips - chin. The artist contrasts it with the repulsive profile of the lady in the mirror. In warm, brown-muted tones, the artist also gives a thick carpet on the table.

The base of the candlestick tells what the lady's waist line should look like. Ugliness adorns itself unskillfully; falseness, artificiality only emphasizes its unnaturalness and makes a repulsive impression.

Gerard Terborch or Gerard ter Borch (1617-1681) is one of the main masters of Dutch genre painting of the golden age. He was the first to discover the private world of city dwellers, capturing their daily activities at home [source not specified 749 days]. His realistic aesthetic was developed by the Delft masters Pieter de Hooch and Jan Vermeer .

"Lady's Toilet", by Artist Gerard Terborch, C. 1660 Canvas, oil. Size: 76.2 x 59.7 cm. Detroit Institute of the Arts