Ignacio Pinazo Camarlench - Nude [1888]

Ignacio Pinazo Camarlench - Nude [1888], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

A young man lies face down on the earth, crowned with grape leaves in the fashion of the god, Bacchus. This mythological touch, which Pinazo developed in part of his oeuvre, shows the influence of his time in Italy. This nude also clearly shows how important light was in many of this artist's works. Here it can be seen in the reverberant effect of the white cloth that cover's the model's legs. This work is one of several works by this artist acquired for the Museum of Modern Art in 1957.

[Museo Nacional del Prado - Oil on wood, 105 x 185 cm]

Bernardo Bellotto - Neumarkt in Dresden [1747]

Bernardo Bellotto - Neumarkt in Dresden [1747], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Bellotto created a series of views of Dresden and Pirna for Count Heinrich von Bruhl, minister to the court of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, Augustus III. Consisting of 15 paintings altogether, the whole series was acquired in 1768, with the rest of Bruhl's collection, by the Russian Empress Catherine II. Ten canvases are still to be found in the Hermitage. The somewhat dry manner of execution is balanced by the perfect precision with which the architecture is conveyed. To the left we see the building which then housed the picture gallery, and in the centre, in the depths of the painting, is the Church of the Virgin, and in front of it the court stables, destroyed in 1760 during the siege of Dresden by Prussian troops.

[Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg - Oil on canvas, 134.5 x 236.5 cm]

Eugène Boudin - Deauville, the Terrace [1882]

Eugène Boudin - Deauville, the Terrace [1882], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

[Philadelphia Museum of Art - Oil on canvas, 36.8 x 58.1 cm]

Jan Steen - The Lovesick Maiden [c.1660]

Jan Steen - The Lovesick Maiden [c.1660], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Doctors were familiar targets of parody in Steen's native Leiden, the home of a famous medical school. Borrowing from the comic stage, Steen identifies the old man as a quack by his peculiar clothing, while the nature of the young lady's malady is suggested by the Cupid over the door, and other intimations like the open bed.

[Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York - Oil on canvas, 86.4 x 99.1 cm]

Jacob Ochtervelt - The Love Letter [early 1670s]

Jacob Ochtervelt - The Love Letter [early 1670s], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Ochtervelt (Dutch, Rotterdam, 1634 - Amsterdam, 1682) was a co-pupil of Pieter de Hooch under Nicolaas Bercham in Haarlem. He worked in his native Rotterdam from about 1655 to 1674, and then moved to Amsterdam. This typical scene of elegant domestic life was painted around 1670, when Ochtervelt was strongly influenced by Gerard ter Borch.

[Metropolitan Museum of Art - Oil on canvas, 91.4 x 63.5 cm]

Theodor Rombouts - Card Players [c.1627]

Theodor Rombouts - Card Players [c.1627], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

[Museo Nacional del Prado - Oil on canvas, 100 x 223 cm]

Theodor Rombouts - The Charlatan [1620-25]

Theodor Rombouts - The Charlatan [1620-25], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

[Museo Nacional del Prado - Oil on canvas, 118 x 223 cm]