In a shed before a cave are seen the Virgin & Child with Saint Joseph, God the Father between two angels, John the Baptist, Saint Stephen & possibly a shepherd, Saints Jerome & Nicholas. On the left pilaster of the frame are shown Saints Gabriel, Peter & Francis; on the right are the Virgin Annunciate, Saints Paul & Lucy. On the predella panels (1849.2) are depicted the Agony in the Garden; the Betrayal of Christ; Christ on the Cross; the Deposition & the Resurrection; & coats of arms, including those of the Cerretani of Siena & Piccolomini. ...

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. ...

An angel appeared to the shepherds (right background) & they came to adore the Child Jesus (foreground). The Three Kings (centre background), guided by a star, are seen on their journey to Bethlehem to honour the new-born Jesus. The angels hold scrolls. The picture was probably painted by a follower of Sodoma, perhaps from his design. ...

This painting is thought to be based on a lost original of around 1460-80. In the background appear the Annunciation to the Shepherds, & the Shepherds pointing to the Star. The two women behind Saint Joseph are presumably the Virgin's midwives, Zelomi (Zebel) & Mary Salome who are legendary, not biblical, characters. Geertgen's ' Nativity At Night', is comparable as a night scene, but in this painting the Child is placed on the ground instead of in a crib. ...

Three versions of this subject are known, including one in the Hermitage, St Petersburg. It is not known which of the three was the one exhibited at the Salon of 1775. Evidently a popular composition, it was also engraved in 1785. Le Prince specialised in ...

Create your own bespoke print of Peter Paul Rubens’ A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning from our collection. About this painting ...

Create your own bespoke print of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s The Oak in the Valley from our collection. About this painting The Oak in the Valley, 1871 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1981 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 Jacopo Tintoretto’s The Origin of the Milky Way from our collection. About this painting The Origin of the Milky Way, about 1575 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1890 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 characteristic scene by van Ostade, a painter & draftsman of landscapes & genre paintings, who was active for only about a decade. His early works are strongly dependent on the art of his brother Adriaen, by whom there are also paintings in ...

Create your own bespoke print of Thomas Gainsborough’s The Painter's Daughters chasing a Butterfly from our collection. About this painting The Painter's Daughters chasing a Butterfly, probably probably about 1756 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1900 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. ...