This is one of a number of oil studies for the artist's ' Bathers at Asnières' of 1884. Several of these studies were painted near Asnières in north-west Paris, & the design of this study is close to the finished painting. The picture retains the quality of an open-air sketch, but the detail is carefully delineated with small touches of paint. ...

Lazarus, the brother of Mary Magdalene, was dying & Jesus was called to his bedside, but by the time he arrived Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus was taken to the grave, gave thanks to God, & 'he that was dead came forth, bound hand & foot ...

The subject of this painting is taken from the New Testament (John: 11). At the request of the sisters Martha & Mary, Jesus visits the grave of their brother Lazarus & raises him from the dead. This work was painted for Cardinal Giulio de' Medici in Rome in competition with Raphael's ' Transfiguration', now in the Vatican Gallery. It was subsequently taken to the Cathedral of Narbonne, the see of the patron. Some of the main figures are based on drawings which Michelangelo supplied for the guidance of Sebastiano. The painting was purchased from the Angerstein collection. ...

The subject is taken from Ovid's ' Metamorphoses', which tells how Europa was carried away from Tyre by the god Zeus who had transformed himself into a bull. This painting was highly esteemed in the 18th & early 19th century, but for most of the 20th-century was considered as a reduction & reversal of Veronese's painting in the Doge's Palace, Venice. However, it is certainly an autograph by Veronese & may represent an earlier conception of this subject. ...

Europa was the daughter of Agenor, King of Tyre. Zeus fell in love with her & transformed himself into a docile bull in order to abduct her from the shore where she was playing. She climbed on his back & they swam away to Crete. She bore him three sons, Minos, Rhadamanthys & Sarpedon. The myth, with its dark erotic undertones, was one of the most popular classical subjects for 17th-century paintings, although the inclusion of Cupid makes this example rather unusual. Europa is shown at the moment when her disquiet at being abducted begins to turn to love. The painting was made for King Wladislaw of Pol&, shortly before 1640, & its luminous tonality, studied elegance & strong pale colouring are typical of Reni's late style. ...

Amnon, a son of King David, desired his half-sister Tamar. Faking illness, he asked her to come & cook for him, & then raped her. He was later killed in revenge by Tamar's brother Absalom (2 Samuel 13). ...

Plutarch (' Lives' II, 14 & 19) relates that the Sabine tribe were invited to games in Rome; at a given signal from their king, Romulus, the Romans carried off the women. The background shows the later episode when the Sabines attacked the Romans & were defeated. The Romans & Sabines fight in the background beyond the rail that separates the audience from the games. The abduction is set before classical architecture, but the women wear 17th-century Flemish dress. ...

These four pictures are from a series illustrating stories from ancient Roman history. They show (top to bottom): ' The Attack on Cartagena'; ' The Continence of Scipio'; ' The Rape of the Sabines'; & ' The Intervention of the Sabine Women'. Two other pictur ...

The setting of this painting & ' The Rape of the Sabines (before the signal)' is the same. According to Plutarch's ' Lives', the rape of the Sabine women began when Romulus stood up. He is shown here standing in the centre. The pictures may come from a cassone. ...

The setting of this painting & ' The Rape of the Sabines (after the signal)' is the same. According to Plutarch's ' Lives', shortly after the founding of Rome neighbouring peoples were invited to equestrian games which were to provide the opportunity for carrying off brides for the Romans. The Sabine women, who have come to watch the games, are shown on either side of Romulus & his entourage. The pictures may come from a cassone. ...