This altarpiece shows the Virgin on a high throne, with Saint John the Baptist on the left, & Saint Nicholas of Bari to the right. It is dated 1505 on the basis of the inscription on the Virgin's mantle. It is known as ' The Ansidei Madonna' because it was commissioned by Bernardino Ansidei for his family chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas in the church of San Fiorenzo, Perugia. Part of the predella, the lower section of the altarpiece, showing ' Saint John the Baptist preaching' is also in the Collection. The internal architecture is not in fact entirely logical. The throne has no arms, & the steps are too steep to be practicable. They do, however, beautifully reflect the arches above & give the sense of a humble approach to the throne., p> The Perugian patron probably wanted something in the tradition of the city's famous artist Perugino. On employing Raphael, influenced by Perugino, he got this & more. Raphael visited Florence in 1504. The influence of Donatello's sculpture is visible in the figure of Saint Nicholas. He would also have studied the sculptural approach of painters like Masaccio. ...

In the left panel the Virgin is shown in a pose of adoration. The central panel represents Christ of the Apocalypse as described in the New Testament (Revelation 1: 13). He has a golden girdle; his head & hair are 'as white as snow'; in his right hand he holds the seven stars & in his left the keys of death & hell. Originally he may have held a two-edged sword in his mouth. On the right, John the Baptist holds a scroll with an inscription from the Old Testament (Isaiah 7: 14) ' Ecce virgo co (n)cipiet' (Behold a Virgin shall conceive). The scroll originally read ' Ecce agnus dei' (Behold the Lamb of God), the words usually associated with the Baptist. ...

The Duke of Buckingham is carried upwards by Minerva & Mercury to a marble temple in front of which are Virtue & Abundance (?). The three Graces offer the Duke a crown of flowers, Envy seeks to pull him down & a lion challenges him. George Villiers (1592
- 1628) was created Duke of Buckingham in 1623. He was the powerful favourite of James I & Charles I. This picture is an allegory of his political aims & the forces that impeded him. It is a preparatory sketch for a ceiling painting by Rubens that hung in the Duke's London home, York House (destroyed by fire in 1949). It was probably commissioned from Rubens when Buckingham first met him in Paris in about 1625. The sketch demonstrates Rubens's brilliant foreshortenings & must have inspired the artist's later work for the Banqueting House of Whitehall Palace.
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On the wings, the donor & donatrix have unidentified coats of arms, partly rubbed out, with the letters W B associated with the donor. In the background of the wings: left, the Way to Calvary, right the Resurrection. ...

This altarpiece comes from a chapel in the Certosa di Pavia, a Carthusian monastery near Milan. The central Virgin & Child are flanked by the Archangel Saint Michael on the left, standing on Satan. Raphael & the young Tobias are on the right. The Virgin's robe is ultramarine of exceptional quality. The church was consecrated in May 1497. In 1499 Ludovico il Moro, ruler of Milan & the Certosa's most important supporter, applied pressure to get it completed. The Certosa had a large number of chapels. The original altarpiece had an upper tier with God the Father flanked by the Virgin Annunciate & the Archangel Gabriel. The two top side-panels were supplied by another Florentine artist, Albertinelli, after Perugino had failed to paint them. Originally these three panels formed the lower tier of a six-panel altarpiece. They have been cut down at the bottom. Central panel 113.7 x 63.8 cm; Wings each approx. 113 x 56 cm. ...

Create your own bespoke print of Sir Henry Raeburn’s The Archers from our collection. About this painting Robert Ferguson of Raith 1770-1840 & Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald Ferguson 1773-1841 (' The Archers'), about 1789-90 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 2001 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. ...

Create your own bespoke print of Jan van Eyck's The Arnolfini Portrait from our collection. About this painting The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1842 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. ...

The altarpiece is complete & was dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist. It came from the Camaldolese Nunnery of San Giovanni in Pratovecchio, Italy. In the pinnacles are the Archangel Gabriel, the Trinity & the Virgin Annunciate. On the left panel ar ...

The 12 main panels of the altarpiece, one of the largest to be commissioned in 14th-century Florence, are in the National Gallery Collection. The predella shows scenes from the life of Saint Peter & is dispersed in different collections. The painting was commissioned for the church of San Pier Maggiore in Florence, probably by the Albizzi family. The accounts of 1370 show that a certain Niccolò, probably Niccolò di Pietro Gerini, designed the altarpiece. It was probably painted by Jacopo di Cione & assistants. It was completed in 1371. In the centre of the composition are Christ & the Virgin, dressed in white & gold, & seated upon a canopied throne surrounded by angels. The panels to each side are densely crowded with saints; to the left a prominent Saint Peter carries a model of San Pier Maggiore. The middle tier of the altarpiece, which would have been supported by heavy buttresses, showed (from left to right) the Nativity, the Adoration of the Kings, the Resurrection, the Maries at the Sepulchre, the Ascension & Pentecost. In the three pinnacles above, the Trinity appeared in the centre with adoring angels on each side. A later, more fluent, Florentine version of the theme is ' The Coronation of the Virgin' by Lorenzo Monaco. ...

The story of Saint Peter Martyr, a Dominican friar & inquisitor, is told in the ' Golden Legend'. In 1252, he was ambushed on the road to Milan by assassins hired by local Cathar heretics. He was wounded in the head & stabbed repeatedly. His last actio ...