Before he devoted himself exclusively to portraiture, Netscher painted a number of genre scenes. His indebtedness to his master, Gerard ter Borch, can be seen in the careful depiction of texture, in this case of the fur & satin of the woman's rich cloth ...

This painting, one of Lancret's most ambitious of the works & often considered his masterpiece, was exhibited at the Salon of 1742. The subject is a pastoral idyll in contemporary dress. It may have been intended as a portrait of a particular family taking its ease in the kind of idealised park setting popularised by prints after the paintings of Watteau (1684
- 1721). Informality is the keynote of both the landscape & the figures, who occupy the left part of the composition. A woman, presumably the mother, offers a spoonful of coffee to the younger child, observed by a man (presumably the father) who holds out a tray to a servant holding a silver coffee pot. The traditional title of the painting, ' The Cup of Chocolate' is, therefore, a misnomer. Behind the mother is the focal point of the setting, a stone vase filled with roses on an elaborate pedestal, which forms the left pier of the fountain basin to the right. The informality of the scene is underlined by the doll lying on the ground beside the fountain & the dog on the right rooting among the hollyhocks.
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This is an inferior version of a picture attributed to Botticelli (formerly Berlin, Noak collection). Other rather similar profiles exist from the circle of Botticelli, but it is uncertain whether they are portraits; they may be no more than celebrations of some female ideal. On the reverse is a painting including a winged figure, presumably an angel, standing on a rock before a wood, in what may be an allegorical scene. The angel holds a sphere & a scroll (which is inscribed: CHI B / I / N). The object in this figure's right hand has alternatively been described as moss or a handkerchief. ...

On the left two maids work at an embroidery frame. The painting on the wall shows the goddess Diana with cupids, two of whom decorate a term of a god, probably Pan. This possibly alludes to the chaste character of the lady & the more amorous intentions o ...

Netscher intends a deliberate contrast between the industry of the girl who is being taught to read & the idleness of the boy, who prefers to play with the dog & knucklebone. On the wall behind is a small copy of Rubens's ' The Brazen Serpent', the ori ...

The sitter has not been identified. The costume suggests the date of about 1550 & can be compared with ' Portrait of a Lady' by Hemessen in the collection. The attribution is not certain. The painting has sometimes been thought to be by Catharina van Hemessen's father, Jan, although this type of portrait is very similar to her work. It may be by another unidentified Antwerp artist. ...

Create your own bespoke print of Hans Holbein the Younger’s A Lady with a Squirrel & a Starling from our collection. About this painting A Lady with a Squirrel & a Starling, about 1526
- 1528 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1992 With our custom print service, you can order your own fully customised reproduction from the National Gallery Collection & exhibitions. Choose your own size, print material & frames & have your masterpiece delivered straight to your door.
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Create your own bespoke print of Claude-Joseph Vernet’s A Landscape at Sunset from our collection. About this painting A Landscape at Sunset with Fishermen returning with their Catch (' Calme'), 1773 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 2004 With our custom print service, you can order your own fully customised reproduction from the National Gallery Collection & exhibitions. Choose your own size, print material & frames & have your masterpiece delivered straight to your door. ...

This is a relatively late work by Salomon van Ruysdael, painted in the fluent & assured style of his maturity. Unlike 'A River Landscape with Fishermen' it contains no preparatory underdrawing. Salomon van Ruysdael, who was active in Haarlem, was influenced by Esaias van de Velde & Jan van Goyen. Works by both artists can be found in the National Gallery's Collection. Salomon's nephew was the famous Dutch landscape painter Jacob Isaacsz. van Ruisdael, whose works are also represented in the Collection. ...

Wijnants was from Haarlem & throughout his life the subject of almost all his pictures is the characteristic dune scenery near the city. However, in this picture a specific location cannot be identified. Shortly after he painted this picture he moved to ...