This painting is the third part of a set of works illustrating the last story of Boccaccio's ' Decameron' (see also ' The Story of Patient Griselda' Parts I & II). They may have been let into the wainscoting of a room, or have decorated 'spalliere'. The sc ...

During the exodus from Egypt, the Red Sea parted for the fleeing Israelites, & closed again to drown Pharaoh's pursuing army. Miriam & other Israelite women danced to celebrate this escape. Old Testament (Exodus 15: 20-21). Moses is in the foreground ...

During their exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were short of food in the wilderness, & God provided manna, a miraculous food, from Heaven. Old Testament (Exodus 16: 14-36). Moses, on the left, directs the Israelites to gather up the heavenly bread. Both ...

This unusual subject has recently been identified as the story of the boy Papirius, who accompanied his father to the senate, & was sworn to secrecy concerning the debate. Questioned by his mother (left), he claimed they had discussed whether it would be better for men to have two wives, or women two husbands. The next day, she rallied the matrons of Rome to petition the senate that women might have two husbands. The senators were astonished & outraged until Papirius intervened to unravel the mystery (centre). The jovial classical subject is of a kind favoured for the decoration of domestic interiors in the Renaissance period. Beccafumi included many identifiable Roman monuments among which are the Colosseum (centre) & Castel Sant' Angelo (right). A date in the 1520s seems likely. ...

' Cassoni' were part of the furnishing of the Italian bedchamber & were often painted. This chest was probably rebuilt in the 19th century, & it has also been entirely regilded. The story on the front comes from the historians Plutarch & Livy. On the ...

The painting is almost entirely repainted, especially in the figure. An old inscription, lower right, gives the date 25 November 1480. The lower left inscription is a more recent reconstruction; it

Includes:: the names Mehmet & Gentile Bellini. The attribu

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Create your own bespoke print of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s The Supper at Emmaus from our collection. About this painting The Supper at Emmaus, 1601 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1839 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 Claude-Marie Dubufe’s The Surprise from our collection. About this painting The Surprise, before 1827 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1847 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 Gerard ter Borch’s The Swearing of the Oath of Ratification of the Treaty of Münster from our collection. About this painting The Swearing of the Oath of Ratification of the Treaty of Münster, 1648 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1871 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 portrait is a late work, probably around 1570, & the most famous of Moroni's portraits; it was already celebrated in the 17th century, when it was in the Grimani collection in Venice. The colourful costume of the tailor is contrasted with the black material marked with chalk lines that he prepares to cut. Most of the sitters in Moroni's later portraits are dressed in black in the Spanish fashion that persisted into the following century. The tailor's head, lit from above to the left, dominates the painting, the eyes, as in the majority of Moroni's portraits, looking directly at the spectator with shrewd appraisal.   ...