Something Beautiful

Lukas site [Death of the Virgin (van der Goes)

Lukas site

Search: Artist, Century, Collection

Example:  this extraordinary Death of the Virgin, c. , by Hugo van der Goes.  Check out the zoom and you'll see what I mean. 

Same: Altarpiece of St. Nicholas, by the Master of the Legend of St. Lucia

Ghent Altarpiece, by Jan van Eyk

Death of Peter Paul Rubens  1800s?

20th-century Last Supper 

Collections

Themes

 

Rijksmuseum

Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum currently has 746 paintings on display. Luckily for us, it also has more than 4,000 paintings online!

Among them are these Biblical scenes, many of which are simply marvelous.

Madonna and Child

This work is not quite beautiful, i think, and yet it is somehow memorable.   Painted in about 1290 by the Master of St. Cecilia, it resides at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.  

Annunciation triptych (Campin)

Have a look at the Annunciation Triptych by Robert Campin.   Painted c. 1430, it is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.  The detail is just extraordinary, especially in the center panel.

 

Annunciation (Garofalo)

If you get up close to this Annunciation, done in 1528 by Garofalo, you'll see that it's a pretty extraordinary painting.   This work is owned by the Musei Capitolini, Rome. 

 

 

Maestà

The term "Maestà" is a quick way to refer to the "Madonna and Child Enthroned in Majesty."  It was a fairly popular theme in Gothic art.   There are six Maestà's at the Google Art Project: 

Maestà, c. 1280, by Cimabue

Maestà, late 1200s, by Master of Badia a Isola

Rucellai Madonna, c. 1285, by Duccio

Ognissanti Madonna, 1310, by Giotto

Maestà, c. 1315, by Simone Martini

Maestà, c. 1317, by Lippo Memmi. 

The most famous of all is, of course, the wonderful, double-sided, complex Maestà, c. 1308-10, by Duccio. It was made for the Cathedral in Siena, Italy, and today resides in the Cathedral's Museum. More on this work, perhaps, another day. :-)

Coronation of Mary (Monaco)

This Coronation of Mary, by Lorenzo Monaco, is marvelous when viewed in close-up.    It's at the National Gallery of Art in London.   (Tip:  use full-screen; then zoom.)  

Bonus:  This Madonna and Child, also by Monaco, is different but equally lovely.  It's at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.  

Presentation (Lorenzetti)

February 2nd (yesterday) is the traditional day for celebrating the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.   The story is told in the Gospel of St. Luke at 2:22-39.  

The Presentation is one of that small category of Gospel scenes which has evoked many exceptionally fine paintings.   One of my personal favorites is the Presentation by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, done in 1432.  Just start anywhere and pan across, or up and down.   You'll soon see that its splendid colors and tremendous detail make this an extraordinary art work. 

 

Memling Altarpice

This altarpiece by Hans Memling was done c. 1480. From left to right, you can see a Nativity, an Adoration of the Magi, and a Presentation in the Temple. 

We can see this work in exquisite detail, thanks to the Prado Museum's generous large images.  

To me the figure of St. Joseph on the left, wearing a warm winter hat agains the December cold, is especially delightful.   All in all, however, there is nearly everything to love about this work.   

Nativity (Poyer)

Famed illuminator Jean Poyer left us these three miniatures of the events surrounding Jesus' birth, in the so-called Hours of Henry VIII, c. 1500:

* Nativity (zoom);

* Annunciation to the Shepherds (zoom);

* Adoration of the Magi (zoom)