A fascinating miscellany of facts, "es & tales. Dip in or find yourself engrossed in an alternative tour of the great art & artists in the National Gallery, London. This is not your usual art gallery guide. Instead, this volume gets you up close & personal to individual masterpieces in the National Gallery. Meet some of the colourful characters captured in portraits & the people who brought these treasures to the National Gallery. Read about the painting that took flight down a mountainside, the portrait which made a cameo appearance in a James Bond film, the paintings that conceal paintings, only discovered years later. This book unlocks the hidden history of masterpieces in the National Gallery, until now buried in larger books, articles or archives. Immerse yourself in a treasury of facts, discoveries & anecdotes. Many are touching, some highly amusing, while others are surprising, but all are addictive reading. If the Paintings Could Talk presents these accounts in an A–Z format, richly illustrated & skilfully cross-referenced with other entries in the book, leading art lovers on an intriguing journey. ...

It is likely that the foreground figures shown in this picture are Saint Roch & his attendant Gothardus, who tended the ulcer on Saint Roch's thigh. The picture may have been painted to commemorate relief from the plague, against which Saint Roch was in ...

A group of figures & a dog rest on a winding road. Further back another figure walks towards a small hilltop town. The scenery derives from the countryside outside Rome. The view was previously believed to represent the ancient town of Ariccia, but the buildings have now been identified as being a composite of buildings found in Tivoli as they were in Dughet's lifetime. This work is apparently a pendant to Dughet's ' Landscape with a Shepherd & his Flock', also in the Collection. ...

This colourful set of placements is perfect for adding a touch of colour to your home. This set

Includes::

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In the foreground a stag is resting, while a hind drinks from a pool in the left background. This painting was exhibited in 1863 with the title ' Amours de Cerfs' (Loves of Stags), but it had acquired its present title by 1873. ...

The church interior has not been identified. The painting was previously attributed to Pieter Neeffs the Elder, whose name, together with the date 1644, is inscribed on the wall tablet above the tomb on the right. However, the signature is false & the p ...

The paintings hanging in the church depict, from left to right, Christ carrying the Cross, the Virgin & Child, the Crucifixion & Saint Jerome. The object in the centre is the font crane which supports a font cover. The numbers 632 on the tombstone are ...

Brekelenkam painted many versions of this subject, using the same basic composition. The earliest version dates from 1653 (Worcester, Mass., Art Museum), & the latest from 1664 (private collection). This painting can probably be dated to just before 166 ...

This is a view of the west end of the St Cunerakerk, the court chapel of the exiled Frederick V of the Palatinate, King of Bohemia, & his queen, Elizabeth Stuart. It is one of the few of van Bassen's paintings that accurately represent an actual buildin ...

A truly inspirational book superbly illustrated & engineered by David Hawcock, this Leonardo da Vinci journal will provide endless fuel for the imagination & educate young readers in the wonder & genius of this celebrated figure. This pop-up book is presented as though it is the newly discovered private journal of the inventor & re-creates the exciting inventions & ideas of Leonardo da Vinci in an engaging 3D format. Adults & children alike will be impressed by the detail of this elaborate hardback. Author David Hawcock is a pop-up engineer for many titles & runs his own paper engineering company. He now lives in Bath with his wife & two children. ...