Something Beautiful

An Old Woman Sewing

This painting is "homely," but still quite a lovely work -- An Old Woman Sewing, 1655, by Johannes van der Aack. 

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (Rembrandt)

While pursuing another subject entirely, I came across a reference to this extraordinary work -- The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, 1623, by Rembrandt. It's housed in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Piccolomini altar (Michelangelo)

Attention, Agony and Ecstasy fans! Remember the Piccolomini altar that Michelangelo undertook as a young man, despite his deep misgivings?

Here are photos of the resulting work, much scaled-down from the original plan -- Piccolomini altar, Siena.

Impressionists

Here is a set of related sites that I've known about and liked for a long time. Each has a neat feature by which you can search for different categories of painting --

Cezanne (1839-1906)
Degas (1834-1917)
Gauguin (1848-1903)

Monet (1840-1926)
Renoir (1841-1919)
Van Gogh (1853-1890) 

St Jerome (El Greco)

Please take a look at this St Jerome, ca. 1595, by El Greco.   Note: the zoom is amazing. 

Wedding Dance (Brueghel)

At the Detroit Institute of Art site, you can use their zoom feature to get quite close to the Wedding Dance, 1566, by Pieter Brueghel. Getting up close makes all the difference!

Filippino Lippi

At the Norton Simon site, two beautiful works by Filippino Lippi -- Saints Benedict and Apollonia and Saints Paul and Frediano, c. 1483.

North American Landscapes in Art

This excellent site has been around for a long time, but it's still good -- North American Landscapes, which reveals the ways in which North American artists have depicted the continent's varied landscape.

I keep meaning to dissect its parts so that a passer-through can more easily find his or her way around. Perhaps posting this will prompt me finally to get around to that.

St Martin and the Beggar (El Greco)

The painting of the day for today at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. is St. Martin and the Beggar, c. 1597, by El Greco.  Great colors! 

Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder

Here is another wonderful site that has been around for a long time -- Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder. 

H & H is a Dutch company that sells Old Master paintings.  Their site presents many of these works in a tasteful and compelling way.  Have a look -- 

Battle at Sea between Hollanders and Pirates c. 1675, by Ludolf Backhuyzen

Summer Flowers in a Vase,  by Rachel Ruysch (1664 - 1750)

Still Life with Flowers and Fruit, by Jan Van Os Middelharnis (1744-1808)

There are lots more.  You can find some by using the home page (above) or give the search engine a try (just choose a letter and click).