It has been suggested that the three main figures in the painting may be portraits of the painter brothers Antoine, Louis & Mathieu Le Nain. Cleaning in 1968 revealed that the picture is unfinished; the head of a boy emerged under the considerable repai ...

The subjects have not been identified, but it is thought that the dress of the men may be Venetian in style. The child's costume, which is recognisably that of a girl, can be dated to around 1540. The painting is probably painted by a Netherlandish painte ...

This painting & ' Four Scenes from the Early Life of Saint Zenobius' are from a series illustrating the life of the 5th-century bishop Zenobius, one of Florence's patron saints, perhaps made as domestic decorations for a patrician family (two other panels from the series survive). The panels illustrate episodes from Fra Clemente Mazza's ' Life of Saint Zenobius', first printed in 1487. Top, from left to right: Saint Zenobius renounces his intended bride; he is baptized by Saint Theodosius, Bishop of Florence; his mother is baptized; he is consecrated Bishop of Florence by the Pope. Bottom, from left to right: the saint exorcises devils from two youths possessed as a result of their mother's curse; he resurrects a dead boy, here lying in the lap of his wailing mother; & he restores the sight of a blind pagan who had promised to convert to Christianity. ...

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 x 64 cm; wings each approx. 113 x 56 cm. ...

Saint Matthew is shown writing his gospel; the angel beside him represents his divine inspiration. Saint Catherine of Alexandria wears the crown of a princess. Fragments of the wheel on which she was tortured lie at her feet. She was finally beheaded, hence the sword she carries. Saint John the Evangelist carries pen & ink at his belt. The eagle next to him symbolises the inspiration for his Book of Revelations, while the snake & chalice refer to his survival after having drunk poison. The damaged reverse shows Saint Jerome, a female martyr, Saint Gregory the Great & a kneeling donor in the cloak of a Knight of Malta. This painting once formed the left-hand shutter of an altarpiece, probably made for a church in Cologne, of which the central panel is now lost. The other shutter showing saints Mark, Barbara & Luke on the front & saints Ambrose, Cecilia & Augustine on the reverse, is in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne. Both reverses include donors wearing the emblem of the Knights of Malta. ...

The same watermills occur in another picture by Ruisdael (formerly New York, S. Borchard collection). The attribution of this painting has been doubted in the past, but it is an autograph, rather worn painting that dates from about 1670. ...

This painting was etched by Philippe Zilcken sometime before 1890. The subject & composition were a favourite of the artist, who was not seeking to depict particular sites. The main windmill has detail picked out in light browns, but the two further one ...

The painting is signed & dated on the rock on the right: P.B. 1746. An old collection inventory number can be seen in the bottom right-hand corner of the canvas. This was added when the painting was in the Koucheleff Besborodko collection. The winged ...

The winged figure of Time, holding a scythe in the sky, reveals Truth, his daughter, who unmasks an old woman personifying Fraud. The four Cardinal Virtues kneel in tribute at Truth's feet. Fortitude rests by a lion which symbolises her courage, while Jus ...

The story is told in the Book of Tobit (6: 1-3). Tobias was sent by his blind father Tobit to collect a debt. He was escorted by the Archangel Raphael & when a fish attacked him as the crossed the river Tigris, Raphael told the boy to kill it & remove ...